Message repetition configurations for random access procedures

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. In some systems, a user equipment (UE) may attempt to connect to a base station using a random access procedure. During the random access procedure, the base station may transmit control information associated with a random access response (RAR) during a RAR window. The UE may attempt to receive a single instance of the control information and, in some cases, may be unable to receive and decode the single instance of the control information. The base station may configure one or more RAR windows (or segment(s) thereof) to support transmitting repeating instances of the control information and/or RAR. The UE may identify a quantity of instances of the repeated control information and combine the instances. The UE may successfully decode the combined instances of control information and identify a location for receiving the RAR.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/967,476, filed Jan. 29, 2020, which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety as if fully set forthbelow and for all applicable purposes.

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

The following relates generally to wireless communications and morespecifically to message repetition configurations for random accessprocedures.

INTRODUCTION

Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide varioustypes of communication content such as voice, video, packet data,messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be capable ofsupporting communication with multiple users by sharing the availablesystem resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of suchmultiple-access systems include fourth generation (4G) systems such asLong Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, orLTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems which may bereferred to as New Radio (NR) systems. These systems may employtechnologies such as code division multiple access (CDMA), time divisionmultiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (1-DMA),orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), or discreteFourier transform spread orthogonal frequency division multiplexing(DFT-S-OFDM). A wireless multiple-access communications system mayinclude one or more base stations or one or more network access nodes,each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple communicationdevices, which may be otherwise known as user equipment (UE).

BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME EXAMPLES

The following summarizes some aspects of the present disclosure toprovide a basic understanding of the discussed technology. This summaryis not an extensive overview of all contemplated features of thedisclosure, and is intended neither to identify key or critical elementsof all aspects of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of any orall aspects of the disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present someconcepts of one or more aspects of the disclosure in summary form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

The described techniques relate to improved methods, systems, devices,and apparatuses that support message repetition for random accessprocedure. Generally, the described techniques provide for a more robustrandom access procedure between a user equipment (UE) and a basestation. In some instances, the techniques are utilized when acommunication link between the UE and the base station is in a lowconnectivity condition (e.g., associated with a low link budgetthreshold or low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)). In other instances, thetechniques are utilized in the normal course of communication, includingin normal and strong connectivity conditions. In some wirelesscommunications systems, a UE may attempt to connect to a base stationusing a random access procedure and may transmit a random access requestto the base station. The base station may respond to the random accessrequest by transmitting, to the UE, control information associated witha random access response (RAR) during a RAR window. The base station maytransmit an indication of a RAR window configuration. The RAR windowconfiguration may indicate one or more first segments of a RAR windowsupport a single instance of control information and indicate one ormore second segments of the RAR window support repeated instances of thecontrol information.

The base station may determine based on a RAR window configurationwhether a current segment of the RAR window supports a single instanceof control information or supports repeated instances of controlinformation. Based on the determination, the base station may transmiteither a single instance of control information or repeated instances ofcontrol information during the current segment. Accordingly, during oneor more segments of the RAR window, the base station may transmit thecontrol information without repetition, while, during one or more othersegments of the RAR window, the base station may transmit the controlinformation with repetition according to a configuration of the RARwindow.

When the base station transmits a single instance of controlinformation, the UE may receive the single transmission of the controlinformation, decode the control information, and perform a parity check.The UE may identify a location for receiving the RAR based on thedecoded, single instance of control information. When the base stationtransmits repeated instances of control information, the UE may receivea plurality of the repeated transmissions of the control information,including all of the repeated transmission in some instances. The UE maycombine the multiple received transmissions (e.g., via soft combining)prior to decoding and perform a parity check. The UE may identify alocation for receiving the RAR based on the decoded combination of themultiple received transmissions of the control information.

The RAR window configuration may indicate one or more segments of a RARwindow support a single instance of a RAR message and indicate one ormore segments of the RAR window support repeated instances of the RARmessage. The base station may determine based on a RAR windowconfiguration whether a current segment of the RAR window supports asingle instance of the RAR message or supports repeated instances of theRAR message. Based on the determination, the base station may transmiteither a single instance of the RAR message or repeated instances of theRAR message during the current segment. Accordingly, during one or moresegments of the RAR window, the base station may transmit a RAR messagewithout repetition, while, during one or more other segments of the RARwindow, the base station may transmit the RAR message with repetitionaccording to a configuration of the RAR window.

When the base station transmits a single instance of the RAR message,the UE may receive and decode the single transmission of the RARmessage. The UE may transmit a message 3 (e.g., a radio resource control(RRC) connection request) to the base station based on the decoded RARmessage and the random access procedure may advance. When the basestation transmits repeated instances of the RAR message, the UE mayreceive one or more of the repeated transmissions of the RAR message,including all of the repeated transmission in some instances. The UE maydecode a single received RAR message and/or combine the multiplereceived transmissions (e.g., via soft combining) prior to decoding. TheUE may transmit the message 3 (e.g., RRC connection request) to the basestation based on the decoded RAR message, whether based on a singleinstance or multiple instances of the RAR message.

A method for wireless communication at a user equipment is described.The method may include receiving, from a base station, an indication ofa random access response (RAR) window configuration, the RAR windowconfiguration indicating one or more first segments of a RAR windowsupport a single instance of control information and indicating one ormore second segments of the RAR window support repeated instances of thecontrol information; determining, based on the RAR window configuration,whether a random access procedure is operating within the one or morefirst segments of the RAR window or operating within the one or moresecond segments; and monitoring, based on the determining, one or moreslots of the RAR window for the single instance of the controlinformation or the repeated instances of the control information.

A method for wireless communication at a base station is described. Themethod may include transmitting an indication of a random accessresponse (RAR) window configuration, the RAR window configurationindicating one or more first segments of a RAR window support a singleinstance of control information and indicating one or more secondsegments of the RAR window support repeated instances of the controlinformation; determining, based on the RAR window configuration, whethera random access procedure is operating within the one or more firstsegments of the RAR window or operating within the one or more secondsegments; and transmitting, based on the determining, the singleinstance of the control information or the repeated instances of thecontrol information in one or more slots of the RAR window.

An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment isdescribed. The apparatus may include a processor, memory in electroniccommunication with the processor, and instructions stored in the memoryand executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: receive, froma base station, an indication of a random access response (RAR) windowconfiguration, the RAR window configuration indicating one or more firstsegments of a RAR window support a single instance of controlinformation and indicating one or more second segments of the RAR windowsupport repeated instances of the control information; determine, basedon the RAR window configuration, whether a random access procedure isoperating within the one or more first segments of the RAR window oroperating within the one or more second segments; and monitor, based onthe determining, one or more slots of the RAR window for the singleinstance of the control information or the repeated instances of thecontrol information.

An apparatus for wireless communication at a base station is described.The apparatus may include a processor, memory in electroniccommunication with the processor, and instructions stored in the memoryand executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to: transmit anindication of a random access response (RAR) window configuration, theRAR window configuration indicating one or more first segments of a RARwindow support a single instance of control information and indicatingone or more second segments of the RAR window support repeated instancesof the control information; determine, based on the RAR windowconfiguration, whether a random access procedure is operating within theone or more first segments of the RAR window or operating within the oneor more second segments; and transmit, based on the determining, thesingle instance of the control information or the repeated instances ofthe control information in one or more slots of the RAR window.

An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment isdescribed. The apparatus may include means for receiving, from a basestation, an indication of a random access response (RAR) windowconfiguration, the RAR window configuration indicating one or more firstsegments of a RAR window support a single instance of controlinformation and indicating one or more second segments of the RAR windowsupport repeated instances of the control information; means fordetermining, based on the RAR window configuration, whether a randomaccess procedure is operating within the one or more first segments ofthe RAR window or operating within the one or more second segments; andmeans for monitoring, based on the determining, one or more slots of theRAR window for the single instance of the control information or therepeated instances of the control information.

An apparatus for wireless communication at a base station is described.The apparatus may include means for transmitting an indication of arandom access response (RAR) window configuration, the RAR windowconfiguration indicating one or more first segments of a RAR windowsupport a single instance of control information and indicating one ormore second segments of the RAR window support repeated instances of thecontrol information; means for determining, based on the RAR windowconfiguration, whether a random access procedure is operating within theone or more first segments of the RAR window or operating within the oneor more second segments; and means for transmitting, based on thedetermining, the single instance of the control information or therepeated instances of the control information in one or more slots ofthe RAR window.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wirelesscommunication at a user equipment is described. The code may includeinstructions executable by a processor to receive, from a base station,an indication of a random access response (RAR) window configuration,the RAR window configuration indicating one or more first segments of aRAR window support a single instance of control information andindicating one or more second segments of the RAR window supportrepeated instances of the control information; determine, based on theRAR window configuration, whether a random access procedure is operatingwithin the one or more first segments of the RAR window or operatingwithin the one or more second segments; and monitor, based on thedetermining, one or more slots of the RAR window for the single instanceof the control information or the repeated instances of the controlinformation.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wirelesscommunication at a base station is described. The code may includeinstructions executable by a processor to transmit an indication of arandom access response (RAR) window configuration, the RAR windowconfiguration indicating one or more first segments of a RAR windowsupport a single instance of control information and indicating one ormore second segments of the RAR window support repeated instances of thecontrol information; determine, based on the RAR window configuration,whether a random access procedure is operating within the one or morefirst segments of the RAR window or operating within the one or moresecond segments; and transmit, based on the determining, the singleinstance of the control information or the repeated instances of thecontrol information in one or more slots of the RAR window.

Other aspects, features, and examples of the present invention willbecome apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, upon reviewingthe following description of specific, exemplary examples of the presentinvention in conjunction with the accompanying figures. While featuresof the present invention may be discussed relative to certain examplesand figures below, various implementations of the present invention caninclude one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein. Inother words, while one or more examples may be discussed as havingcertain advantageous features, one or more of such features may also beused in accordance with the various other examples of the inventiondiscussed herein. In similar fashion, while exemplary examples may bediscussed below as device, system, or method examples it should beunderstood that such exemplary examples can be implemented in variousdevices, systems, and methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a system for wireless communicationsthat supports message repetition for a random access procedure inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system thatsupports message repetition for a random access procedure in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a process flow that supports messagerepetition for a random access procedure in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D illustrate examples of window configurationsthat support message repetition for a random access procedure inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a repetition schedule that supportsmessage repetition for a random access procedure in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show block diagrams of devices that support messagerepetition for a random access procedure in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram of a communication manager that supportsmessage repetition for a random access procedure in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 shows a diagram of a system including a device that supportsmessage repetition for a random access procedure in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show block diagrams of devices that support messagerepetition for a random access procedure in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 12 shows a block diagram of a communication manager that supportsmessage repetition for a random access procedure in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 shows a diagram of a system including a device that supportsmessage repetition for a random access procedure in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 14 through 17 show flowcharts illustrating methods that supportmessage repetition for a random access procedure in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A first device, such as a user equipment (UE), may attempt to connect toa second device, such as a base station, using a random accessprocedure. A communication link between the first device and the seconddevice may be associated with a link budget (e.g., a link budgetthreshold or link margin), which may be based on a number oftransmission parameters and environmental factors. As demand forcommunication resources increases due to an increasing number ofwireless devices communicating over the available spectrum, techniquesto efficiently and reliably increase throughput are desirable. In somecases, additional frequency ranges may be used by communicating devices,which may enable devices to achieve higher throughput. Higher frequencyranges (e.g., such as frequency ranges used in FR2, including millimeterwave (mmW) frequency ranges) may be implemented for wirelesscommunications, where transmitting at these higher frequencies involvestransmitting at shorter wavelengths. Such shorter wavelengths may besusceptible to greater path losses, which may adversely affect the linkbudget threshold (e.g., a link margin) of a communication link. This maylead to an increase in communication failures.

A UE may attempt to connect to a base station using a random accessprocedure. The UE may transmit a random access request to the basestation (e.g., a message 1 or msg 1). For example, the UE may transmit aphysical random access channel (PRACH) preamble to the base stationindicating the resource requirement of the UE to initiate the randomaccess procedure. The base station may acknowledge the random accessrequest by transmitting a message 2 (or msg 2) to the UE. The message 2may include control information and a random access response (RAR). TheUE may expect to receive the message 2 during a time window (e.g., a RARwindow). The base station may transmit the control information via aphysical downlink control channel (PDCCH) to indicate a location (e.g.,a frequency and a time) for where the UE may receive the RAR via aphysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). In some cases, the UE and thebase station may be in a low connectivity condition based on a linkbudget threshold associated with the communication link between the UEand the base station. For example, the UE and the base station maycommunicate using higher frequency ranges (e.g., mmW frequency rangessuch as FR2) such that transmissions over the communication link mayexperience greater path losses. Further, the base station may transmitthe control information via PDCCH using a relatively wide beam widthbased on a number of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) associatedwith the PDCCH transmission. Additionally, the UE and the base stationmay be in a low connectivity condition for a variety of other reasons,such as environmental factors (e.g., separation distance, signalobstruction, etc.). Such conditions may result in an increase incommunication failures over the communication link. For example, the UEmay be unable to successfully receive (e.g., decode) the controlinformation transmitted by the base station and, likewise, may be unableto receive the RAR from the base station. In such examples, the randomaccess procedure may fail and the UE and the base station may notestablish a communication link.

In some examples of the present disclosure, the UE and the base stationmay support a reconfigured RAR window that may increase the likelihoodof the UE successfully receiving the control information. For instance,the base station may configure a RAR window to increase the chance thatthe UE may successfully receive and decode the control information. Thebase station may configure the RAR window to support communication ofrepeating instances of the control information. For example, the basestation may configure the RAR window to enable first segments of the RARwindow to support communication of single instances of the controlinformation and second segments of the RAR window to supportcommunication of repeating instances of the control information. Duringthe second segments of the RAR window, the UE may identify and combine(e.g., using soft combining) multiple instances of the controlinformation to improve the likelihood that the UE may be able tosuccessfully decode the control information and identify the location ofthe RAR. The RAR window may be contiguous or non-contiguous. In thisregard, first segments (supporting single instances of controlinformation) may be directly adjacent to (e.g., in a contiguous RARwindow) or spaced from (e.g., in a non-contiguous RAR window) the secondsegments (supporting repeated instances of the control information).Further, the first segments (supporting single instances of controlinformation) may occur before the second segments (supporting repeatedinstances of the control information) or vice versa.

Further, some RAR windows may be configured to support onlycommunication of single instances of the control information and otherRAR windows configured to support communication of repeating instancesof the control portion. Whether a particular RAR window supports onlysingle instances or repeating instances can be predefined (e.g., basedon timing, pattern(s), etc.) or dynamically configured (e.g., based oncommunication link, network load, signal strength, etc.). In someinstances, all RAR windows may be configured to support communication ofrepeating instances of the control portion, but a base station maydynamically determine whether to utilize repeating instances or not. Forexample, the base station may determine based on communication link,network load, signal strength, and/or other factors to repeatedlytransmit the control information for a segment of a RAR window.

The base station may signal the RAR window configuration via systeminformation, such as a system information block (SIB) or a masterinformation block (MIB). Additionally, or alternatively, the basestation may signal the RAR window configuration via a physical broadcastchannel (PBCH). For example, a MIB with RAR window configurationinformation may be transmitted via PBCH. As another example, a SIB withRAR window configuration information may be transmitted in remainingminimum system information (RMSI) via PDSCH. The signaling may includeinformation indicating the RAR window is configured into segments, wherea first group of the segments support a single instance of controlinformation transmission and a second group of the segments supportrepeated control information transmissions. Based on the signaling, theUE may identify the RAR window configuration (e.g., either as explicitlyindicated by the system information or from a look up table (LUT) orother mapping). For example, a mapping between a value of one or morebits or fields of the system information can indicate parameters of theRAR window, including whether a RAR window supports a single instance orrepeated instances of control information, the segments of the RARwindow, the length(s) of the segments in time, the segments associatedrepetition number (e.g., 0 for segments supporting a single instance ofcontrol information or 1, 2, 3, . . . , n for segments supportingrepetition of control information), etc. In some instances, the mappingis based on a fixed table. In some instances, multiple mappings (e.g.,multiple LUTs) may be available to choose from and which mapping to usecan be indicated in the system information (e.g., via the value(s) of abit or field in a MIB or a SIB). Based on the RAR window configuration,the UE can identify one or more reception opportunities for the controlinformation in the RAR window.

Based on the RAR window configuration, the UE may identify repetitionparameters for a RAR window and/or segments of the RAR window. Forexample, for a RAR window supporting multiple repetitions of the controlinformation and/or the RAR of message 2, the UE may identify a number ofrepetitions, a repetition level, an index, a location, and/or any otherinformation regarding the transmission of the control information(including any repetitions) and/or the RAR (including any repetitions)in a segment of the RAR window. The repetition parameters may enable theUE to determine which transmissions are instances of the controlinformation (and/or the RAR) such that the UE may know whichtransmissions to combine. In some examples, the UE may combine multiplereceived transmissions of the control information (and/or the RAR)according to the signaling and may decode the combined controlinformation signal. In some cases, combining multiple receivedtransmissions of the control information may increase the likelihoodthat the UE will successfully decode the control information, andlikewise may increase the chance that the UE will successfully receivethe associated RAR of message 2. Further, in some examples, the UE maycombine multiple received transmissions of the RAR according to thesignaling and may decode the combined RAR signal, thereby, increasingthe likelihood the UE will transmit a message 3 (e.g., RRC connectionrequest) to the base station and the random access procedure willadvance.

Particular aspects of the subject matter described herein may beimplemented to realize one or more advantages. The described techniquesmay support a more robust random access procedure based on increasingthe likelihood that a device may successfully receive the controlinformation associated with a RAR during a RAR window, including duringlow connectivity conditions. Furthermore, devices implementing thetechniques of the present disclosure may achieve power savings byreducing the number of repeats of a random access procedure requiredbefore successfully connecting to a serving base station. The device mayidentify a RAR window configuration for receiving the controlinformation, including where repeated transmissions of controlinformation may be supported, and may employ a soft combining techniqueto increase the likelihood that the device decodes the controlinformation and identifies a location to receive the RAR (e.g., thePDSCH). Further, a base station may dynamically configure one or moreRAR windows to utilize repeated transmissions of control information(and/or RAR) to improve the likelihood of a successful random accessprocedure. As such, supported techniques may include improved networkoperations and efficiencies, among other benefits.

Aspects of the disclosure are initially described in the context ofwireless communications systems. Aspects of the disclosure are describedin the context of a process flow, window configurations, and arepetition schedule. Aspects of the disclosure are further illustratedby and described with reference to apparatus diagrams, system diagrams,and flowcharts that relate to message repetition for random accessprocedure.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communications system 100that supports RAR window configurations, including message repetitionfor a random access procedure, in accordance with aspects of the presentdisclosure. The wireless communications system 100 may include one ormore base stations 105, one or more UEs 115, and a core network 130. Insome examples, the wireless communications system 100 may be a Long TermEvolution (LTE) network, an LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network, an LTE-A Pronetwork, or a New Radio (NR) network. In some examples, the wirelesscommunications system 100 may support enhanced broadband communications,ultra-reliable (e.g., mission critical) communications, low latencycommunications, communications with low-cost and low-complexity devices,or any combination thereof.

The base stations 105 may be dispersed throughout a geographic area toform the wireless communications system 100 and may be devices indifferent forms or having different capabilities. The base stations 105and the UEs 115 may wirelessly communicate via one or more communicationlinks 125. Each base station 105 may provide a coverage area 110 overwhich the UEs 115 and the base station 105 may establish one or morecommunication links 125. The coverage area 110 may be an example of ageographic area over which a base station 105 and a UE 115 may supportthe communication of signals according to one or more radio accesstechnologies.

The UEs 115 may be dispersed throughout a coverage area 110 of thewireless communications system 100, and each UE 115 may be stationary,or mobile, or both at different times. The UEs 115 may be devices indifferent forms or having different capabilities. Some example UEs 115are illustrated in FIG. 1 . The UEs 115 described herein may be able tocommunicate with various types of devices, such as other UEs 115, thebase stations 105, or network equipment (e.g., core network nodes, relaydevices, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) nodes, or other networkequipment), as shown in FIG. 1 .

The base stations 105 may communicate with the core network 130, or withone another, or both. For example, the base stations 105 may interfacewith the core network 130 through one or more backhaul links 120 (e.g.,via an S1, N2, N3, or other interface). The base stations 105 maycommunicate with one another over the backhaul links 120 (e.g., via anX2, Xn, or other interface) either directly (e.g., directly between basestations 105), or indirectly (e.g., via core network 130), or both. Insome examples, the backhaul links 120 may be or include one or morewireless links.

One or more of the base stations 105 described herein may include or maybe referred to by a person having ordinary skill in the art as a basetransceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, a radiotransceiver, a NodeB, an eNodeB (eNB), a next-generation NodeB or agiga-NodeB (either of which may be referred to as a gNB), a Home NodeB,a Home eNodeB, or other suitable terminology.

A UE 115 may include or may be referred to as a mobile device, awireless device, a remote device, a handheld device, or a subscriberdevice, or some other suitable terminology, where the “device” may alsobe referred to as a unit, a station, a terminal, or a client, amongother examples. A UE 115 may also include or may be referred to as apersonal electronic device such as a cellular phone, a personal digitalassistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a laptop computer, or a personalcomputer. In some examples, a UE 115 may include or be referred to as awireless local loop (WLL) station, an Internet of Things (IoT) device,an Internet of Everything (IoE) device, or a machine type communications(MTC) device, among other examples, which may be implemented in variousobjects such as appliances, or vehicles, meters, among other examples.

The UEs 115 described herein may be able to communicate with varioustypes of devices, such as other UEs 115 that may sometimes act as relaysas well as the base stations 105 and the network equipment includingmacro eNBs or gNBs, small cell eNBs or gNBs, or relay base stations,among other examples, as shown in FIG. 1 .

The UEs 115 and the base stations 105 may wirelessly communicate withone another via one or more communication links 125 over one or morecarriers. The term “carrier” may refer to a set of radio frequencyspectrum resources having a defined physical layer structure forsupporting the communication links 125. For example, a carrier used fora communication link 125 may include a portion of a radio frequencyspectrum band (e.g., a bandwidth part (BWP)) that is operated accordingto one or more physical layer channels for a given radio accesstechnology (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, NR). Each physical layerchannel may carry acquisition signaling (e.g., synchronization signals,system information), control signaling that coordinates operation forthe carrier, user data, or other signaling. The wireless communicationssystem 100 may support communication with a UE 115 using carrieraggregation or multi-carrier operation. A UE 115 may be configured withmultiple downlink component carriers and one or more uplink componentcarriers according to a carrier aggregation configuration. Carrieraggregation may be used with both frequency division duplexing (FDD) andtime division duplexing (TDD) component carriers.

Signal waveforms transmitted over a carrier may be made up of multiplesubcarriers (e.g., using multi-carrier modulation (MCM) techniques suchas orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) or discrete Fouriertransform spread OFDM (DFT-S-OFDM)). In a system employing MCMtechniques, a resource element may consist of one symbol period (e.g., aduration of one modulation symbol) and one subcarrier, where the symbolperiod and subcarrier spacing are inversely related. The number of bitscarried by each resource element may depend on the modulation scheme(e.g., the order of the modulation scheme, the coding rate of themodulation scheme, or both). Thus, the more resource elements that a UE115 receives and the higher the order of the modulation scheme, thehigher the data rate may be for the UE 115. A wireless communicationsresource may refer to a combination of a radio frequency spectrumresource, a time resource, and a spatial resource (e.g., spatial layersor beams), and the use of multiple spatial layers may further increasethe data rate or data integrity for communications with a UE 115.

The time intervals for the base stations 105 or the UEs 115 may beexpressed in multiples of a basic time unit which may, for example,refer to a sampling period of T_(S)=1/(Δƒ_(max)·N_(ƒ)) seconds, whereΔƒ_(max) may represent the maximum supported subcarrier spacing, andN_(ƒ) may represent the maximum supported discrete Fourier transform(DFT) size. Time intervals of a communications resource may be organizedaccording to radio frames each having a specified duration (e.g., 10milliseconds (ms)). Each radio frame may be identified by a system framenumber (SFN) (e.g., ranging from 0 to 1023).

Each frame may include multiple consecutively numbered subframes orslots, and each subframe or slot may have the same duration. In someexamples, a frame may be divided (e.g., in the time domain) intosubframes, and each subframe may be further divided into a number ofslots. Alternatively, each frame may include a variable number of slots,and the number of slots may depend on subcarrier spacing. Each slot mayinclude a number of symbol periods (e.g., depending on the length of thecyclic prefix prepended to each symbol period). In some wirelesscommunications systems 100, a slot may further be divided into multiplemini-slots containing one or more symbols. Excluding the cyclic prefix,each symbol period may contain one or more (e.g., N_(ƒ)) samplingperiods. The duration of a symbol period may depend on the subcarrierspacing or frequency band of operation.

A subframe, a slot, a mini-slot, or a symbol may be the smallestscheduling unit (e.g., in the time domain) of the wirelesscommunications system 100 and may be referred to as a transmission timeinterval (TTI). In some examples, the TTI duration (e.g., the number ofsymbol periods in a TTI) may be variable. Additionally, oralternatively, the smallest scheduling unit of the wirelesscommunications system 100 may be dynamically selected (e.g., in burstsof shortened TTIs (sTTIs)).

Physical channels may be multiplexed on a carrier according to varioustechniques. A physical control channel and a physical data channel maybe multiplexed on a downlink carrier, for example, using one or more oftime division multiplexing (TDM) techniques, frequency divisionmultiplexing (FDM) techniques, or hybrid TDM-FDM techniques. A controlregion (e.g., a control resource set (CORESET)) for a physical controlchannel may be defined by a number of symbol periods and may extendacross the system bandwidth or a subset of the system bandwidth of thecarrier. One or more control regions (e.g., CORESETs) may be configuredfor a set of the UEs 115. For example, one or more of the UEs 115 maymonitor or search control regions for control information according toone or more search space sets, and each search space set may include oneor multiple control channel instances in one or more repetition levelsarranged in a cascaded manner A repetition level for a control channelinstance may refer to a number of control channel resources (e.g.,control channel elements (CCEs)) associated with encoded information fora control information format having a given payload size. Search spacesets may include common search space sets configured for sending controlinformation to multiple UEs 115 and UE-specific search space sets forsending control information to a specific UE 115.

In some examples, a base station 105 may be movable and thereforeprovide communication coverage for a moving geographic coverage area110. In some examples, different geographic coverage areas 110associated with different technologies may overlap, but the differentgeographic coverage areas 110 may be supported by the same base station105. In other examples, the overlapping geographic coverage areas 110associated with different technologies may be supported by differentbase stations 105. The wireless communications system 100 may include,for example, a heterogeneous network in which different types of thebase stations 105 provide coverage for various geographic coverage areas110 using the same or different radio access technologies.

The wireless communications system 100 may be configured to supportultra-reliable communications or low-latency communications, or variouscombinations thereof. For example, the wireless communications system100 may be configured to support ultra-reliable low-latencycommunications (URLLC) or mission critical communications. The UEs 115may be designed to support ultra-reliable, low-latency, or criticalfunctions (e.g., mission critical functions). Ultra-reliablecommunications may include private communication or group communicationand may be supported by one or more mission critical services such asmission critical push-to-talk (MCPTT), mission critical video (MCVideo),or mission critical data (MCData). Support for mission criticalfunctions may include prioritization of services, and mission criticalservices may be used for public safety or general commercialapplications. The terms ultra-reliable, low-latency, mission critical,and ultra-reliable low-latency may be used interchangeably herein.

In some examples, a UE 115 may also be able to communicate directly withother UEs 115 over a device-to-device (D2D) communication link 135(e.g., using a peer-to-peer (P2P) or D2D protocol). One or more UEs 115utilizing D2D communications may be within the geographic coverage area110 of a base station 105. Other UEs 115 in such a group may be outsidethe geographic coverage area 110 of a base station 105 or be otherwiseunable to receive transmissions from a base station 105. In someexamples, groups of the UEs 115 communicating via D2D communications mayutilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each UE 115 transmits toevery other UE 115 in the group. In some examples, a base station 105facilitates the scheduling of resources for D2D communications. In othercases, D2D communications are carried out between the UEs 115 withoutthe involvement of a base station 105.

The core network 130 may provide user authentication, accessauthorization, tracking, Internet Protocol (IP) connectivity, and otheraccess, routing, or mobility functions. The core network 130 may be anevolved packet core (EPC) or 5G core (5GC), which may include at leastone control plane entity that manages access and mobility (e.g., amobility management entity (MME), an access and mobility managementfunction (AMF)) and at least one user plane entity that routes packetsor interconnects to external networks (e.g., a serving gateway (S-GW), aPacket Data Network (PDN) gateway (P-GW), or a user plane function(UPF)). The control plane entity may manage non-access stratum (NAS)functions such as mobility, authentication, and bearer management forthe UEs 115 served by the base stations 105 associated with the corenetwork 130. User IP packets may be transferred through the user planeentity, which may provide IP address allocation as well as otherfunctions. The user plane entity may be connected to the networkoperators IP services 150. The operators IP services 150 may includeaccess to the Internet, Intranet(s), an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS),or a Packet-Switched Streaming Service.

Some of the network devices, such as a base station 105, may includesubcomponents such as an access network entity 140, which may be anexample of an access node controller (ANC). Each access network entity140 may communicate with the UEs 115 through one or more other accessnetwork transmission entities 145, which may be referred to as radioheads, smart radio heads, or transmission/reception points (TRPs). Eachaccess network transmission entity 145 may include one or more antennapanels. In some configurations, various functions of each access networkentity 140 or base station 105 may be distributed across various networkdevices (e.g., radio heads and ANCs) or consolidated into a singlenetwork device (e.g., a base station 105).

The wireless communications system 100 may operate using one or morefrequency bands, typically in the range of 300 megahertz (MHz) to 300gigahertz (GHz). Generally, the region from 300 MHz to 3 GHz is known asthe ultra-high frequency (UHF) region or decimeter band because thewavelengths range from approximately one decimeter to one meter inlength. The UHF waves may be blocked or redirected by buildings andenvironmental features, but the waves may penetrate structuressufficiently for a macro cell to provide service to the UEs 115 locatedindoors. The transmission of UHF waves may be associated with smallerantennas and shorter ranges (e.g., less than 100 kilometers) compared totransmission using the smaller frequencies and longer waves of the highfrequency (HF) or very high frequency (VHF) portion of the spectrumbelow 300 MHz.

The wireless communications system 100 may also operate in a super highfrequency (SHF) region using frequency bands from 3 GHz to 30 GHz, alsoknown as the centimeter band, or in an extremely high frequency (EHF)region of the spectrum (e.g., from 30 GHz to 300 GHz), also known as themillimeter band. In some examples, the wireless communications system100 may support millimeter wave (mmW) communications between the UEs 115and the base stations 105, and EHF antennas of the respective devicesmay be smaller and more closely spaced than UHF antennas. In someexamples, this may facilitate use of antenna arrays within a device. Thepropagation of EHF transmissions, however, may be subject to evengreater atmospheric attenuation and shorter range than SHF or UHFtransmissions. The techniques disclosed herein may be employed acrosstransmissions that use one or more different frequency regions, anddesignated use of bands across these frequency regions may differ bycountry or regulating body.

The wireless communications system 100 may utilize both licensed andunlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands. For example, the wirelesscommunications system 100 may employ License Assisted Access (LAA),LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U) radio access technology, or NR technology in anunlicensed band such as the 5 GHz industrial, scientific, and medical(ISM) band. When operating in unlicensed radio frequency spectrum bands,devices such as the base stations 105 and the UEs 115 may employ carriersensing for collision detection and avoidance. In some examples,operations in unlicensed bands may be based on a carrier aggregationconfiguration in conjunction with component carriers operating in alicensed band (e.g., LAA). Operations in unlicensed spectrum may includedownlink transmissions, uplink transmissions, P2P transmissions, or D2Dtransmissions, among other examples.

A base station 105 or a UE 115 may be equipped with multiple antennas,which may be used to employ techniques such as transmit diversity,receive diversity, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communications,or beamforming. The antennas of a base station 105 or a UE 115 may belocated within one or more antenna arrays or antenna panels, which maysupport MIMO operations or transmit or receive beamforming. For example,one or more base station antennas or antenna arrays may be co-located atan antenna assembly, such as an antenna tower. In some examples,antennas or antenna arrays associated with a base station 105 may belocated in diverse geographic locations. A base station 105 may have anantenna array with a number of rows and columns of antenna ports thatthe base station 105 may use to support beamforming of communicationswith a UE 115. Likewise, a UE 115 may have one or more antenna arraysthat may support various MIMO or beamforming operations. Additionally,or alternatively, an antenna panel may support radio frequencybeamforming for a signal transmitted via an antenna port.

Beamforming, which may also be referred to as spatial filtering,directional transmission, or directional reception, is a signalprocessing technique that may be used at a transmitting device or areceiving device (e.g., a base station 105, a UE 115) to shape or steeran antenna beam (e.g., a transmit beam, a receive beam) along a spatialpath between the transmitting device and the receiving device.Beamforming may be achieved by combining the signals communicated viaantenna elements of an antenna array such that some signals propagatingat particular orientations with respect to an antenna array experienceconstructive interference while others experience destructiveinterference. The adjustment of signals communicated via the antennaelements may include a transmitting device or a receiving deviceapplying amplitude offsets, phase offsets, or both to signals carriedvia the antenna elements associated with the device. The adjustmentsassociated with each of the antenna elements may be defined by abeamforming weight set associated with a particular orientation (e.g.,with respect to the antenna array of the transmitting device orreceiving device, or with respect to some other orientation).

The UEs 115 and the base stations 105 may support retransmissions ofdata to increase the likelihood that data is received successfully.Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback is one technique forincreasing the likelihood that data is received correctly over acommunication link 125. HARQ may include a combination of errordetection (e.g., using a cyclic redundancy check (CRC)), forward errorcorrection (FEC), and retransmission (e.g., automatic repeat request(ARQ)). HARQ may improve throughput at the medium access control (MAC)layer in poor radio conditions (e.g., low signal-to-noise conditions).In some examples, a device may support same-slot HARQ feedback, wherethe device may provide HARQ feedback in a specific slot for datareceived in a previous symbol in the slot. In other cases, the devicemay provide HARQ feedback in a subsequent slot, or according to someother time interval.

Wireless communications systems are widely deployed to provide varioustypes of communication content such as voice, video, packet data,messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be multiple-accesssystems capable of supporting communication with multiple users bysharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, andpower). A wireless network, for example a wireless local area network(WLAN), such as a Wi-Fi (i.e., Institute of Electrical and ElectronicsEngineers (IEEE) 802.11) network may include an access point (AP) thatmay communicate with one or more wireless or mobile devices. The AP maybe coupled to a network, such as the Internet, and may enable a mobiledevice to communicate via the network (or communicate with other devicescoupled to the access point). A wireless device may communicate with anetwork device bi-directionally. For example, in a WLAN, a device maycommunicate with an associated AP via downlink (e.g., the communicationlink from the AP to the device) and uplink (e.g., the communication linkfrom the device to the AP). A wireless personal area network (PAN),which may include a Bluetooth connection, may provide for short rangewireless connections between two or more paired wireless devices. Forexample, wireless devices such as cellular phones may utilize wirelessPAN communications to exchange information such as audio signals withwireless headsets.

In some examples of the present disclosure, a base station 105 mayconfigure a RAR window (e.g., a time window) as part of a random accessprocedure during which a UE 115 may expect to receive a message 2 (e.g.,a random access response). The base station 105 may communicate the RARwindow configuration (including an indication of the RAR windowconfiguration) to the UE 115 via system information or other signaling.Within a RAR window, the base station 105 may transmit controlinformation associated with the RAR to the UE 115. In some cases, thecontrol information may include the location (e.g., the time andfrequency resources) of the RAR. The UE 115 may use the controlinformation to determine how to receive the RAR from the base station105. In some implementations, the RAR window configuration may indicatewhether a RAR window supports a single transmission of controlinformation or repeated transmissions of control information. Where aRAR window supports repeated transmissions, the RAR window configurationmay indicate that different segments of the RAR window are configuredfor different types of control information transmissions. In someexamples, the different types of control information transmissions maybe associated with different transmission patterns (e.g. repetitionlevels). For example, the base station 105 may transmit controlinformation associated with a RAR with different repetition levels basedon which segment of the RAR window a random access procedure isoperating within.

In some instances, for a RAR window that supports repeatedtransmissions, one or more segments of the RAR window support a singletransmission of control information (and/or RAR) and one or moresegments of the RAR window support repeated transmission of controlinformation (and/or RAR). In this regard, the one or more segmentssupporting repeated transmission of control information (and/or RAR) mayhave different levels of repetition (e.g., number of repetitions,spacing of repetitions, etc.) in some instances. For example, a firstsegment (or group of segments) may have a number, i, of repetitions(e.g., 2, 3, 4, etc.) and a second segment (or group of segments) mayhave a different number, j, of repetitions (e.g., 2, 3, 4, etc.). Asanother example, a first segment (or group of segments) may have arepeated transmission every k slots (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.) and asecond segment (or group of segments) may have a repeated transmissionevery 1 slots (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.), where 1 is different than k. Asa further example, a first segment (or group of segments) may have arepeated transmission every m ms (e.g., 5 ms, 10 ms, 15 ms, 20 ms, etc.)and a second segment (or group of segments) may have a repeatedtransmission every n ms (e.g., 5 ms, 10 ms, 15 ms, 20 ms, etc.), where nis different than m.

A RAR window may be contiguous or non-contiguous. For example, twosegments of the RAR window may be adjacent to one another without anygap in time. Additionally, or alternatively, there may be some time gapbetween two segments of the RAR window. As such, a RAR window with anumber of segments may feature no time gaps between each of the numberof segments, a time gap between each of the number of segments, or acombination of no time gaps between some segments and a time gap betweensome other segments. This time gap may be defined in the standardspecifications or may be configured as part of the RAR windowconfiguration.

In some implementations, the base station 105 may identify, inaccordance with the RAR window configuration, that a random accessprocedure is operating within a RAR window that supports a singletransmission of control information (or operating within one or moresegments of the RAR window that support a single transmission of controlinformation of a RAR window that also includes one or more othersegments that support repeated transmissions of control information).Accordingly, the base station 105 may determine to transmit a singleinstance of the control information based on the random access procedureoperating within the RAR window (or one or more segments of a RARwindow) supporting a single transmission.

Likewise, the UE 115 may identify that the random access procedure isoperating within a RAR window that supports a single transmission ofcontrol information (or operating within one or more segments of the RARwindow that support a single transmission of control information of aRAR window that also includes one or more other segments that supportrepeated transmissions of control information). Accordingly, the UE 115may provide a reception opportunity for the single instance of thecontrol information based on the random access procedure operatingwithin the RAR window (or one or more segments of a RAR window)supporting a single transmission. In some cases, however, the UE 115 andthe base station 105 may be in a low connectivity condition (e.g., basedon an insufficient link budget threshold) or other circumstances may bepresent such that the UE 115 may fail to successfully receive (e.g.,decode) a single instance of the control information.

Additionally, or alternatively, the UE 115 and the base station 105 mayidentify that the random access procedure is operating within a RARwindow that supports repeated transmissions of control information (oroperating within one or more segments of the RAR window that support arepeated transmissions of control information of a RAR window that alsoincludes one or more other segments that support a single transmissionof control information). In some examples, the base station 105 mayconfigure the RAR window such that particular segment(s) of the RARwindow support repeatedly transmitting instances of the controlinformation. Accordingly, the base station 105 may repeatedly transmitinstances of the control information in those segments of the RARwindow. In an example, the base station 105 may transmit a firstinstance of the control information in a first slot of the segment andmay transmit a second instance of the control information in a secondslot of the segment that follows the first slot in time (e.g., the firstslot and the second slot may be two consecutive slots, or the secondslot may be spaced from the first slot by one or more other slots).

Likewise, the UE 115 may identify that the random access procedure isoperating within a RAR window that supports repeated transmissions ofcontrol information (or operating within one or more segments of the RARwindow that support a repeated transmissions of control information of aRAR window that also includes one or more other segments that support asingle transmission of control information). The UE 115 may monitor anumber of slots within the segment of the RAR window for the repeatinginstances of the control information. In some examples, the UE 115 may,using RAR window configuration information received from the basestation 105, identify a number of repetitions of the controlinformation, a repetition level of the control information, an index ofthe control information, a location of the control information, or anyother information that may enable the UE 115 to identify which instances(e.g., candidates) of the control information may belong to the samecontrol information repetition pattern (e.g., the control informationinstances may include similar or identical copies of the controlinformation). Based on the RAR window configuration information,including any repetition configuration information, the UE 115 mayidentify a number of instances of the control information and maycombine (e.g., using soft combining) the control information instancesthat may be repeats of each other. In some examples, the UE 115 maydecode the combination of control information instances to determine thelocation of the RAR.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example wireless communications system 200 thatsupports message repetition for a random access procedure in at leastsome RAR windows in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.In some examples, wireless communications system 200 may implementaspects of wireless communications system 100. In some cases, wirelesscommunications system 200 may include a UE 115-a and a base station105-a, which may be examples of UEs 115 and base stations 105 describedwith reference to FIG. 1 . UE 115-a and base station 105-a maycommunicate over communication link 205. In some cases, the wirelesscommunications system 200 (e.g., a 5G or an NR system that supports highfrequency communications, such as FR2) may support enhancements forrandom access procedure at both ends of a communication link 205 (e.g.,for both a UE 115 and a base station 105).

In some cases, the UE 115-a may not be connected to a serving basestation (e.g., such as the base station 105-a), and may initiate arandom access procedure to attempt to connect to the base station 105-a.The UE 115-a may receive system information (e.g., via a SIB, such asSIB1 or SIB2, and/or a MIB) from the base station 105-a via a broadcastmessage (e.g., via a PBCH) and/or via RMSI (e.g., via PDSCH). The UE115-a may identify configuration information associated with the randomaccess procedure based on the system information. For example, the basestation 105 may broadcast information about a set of resources and/or apower level that may be used by a connecting UE (e.g., UE 115-a) duringthe random access procedure. Additionally, in accordance with thepresent disclosure, the base station 105 may transmit, via the systeminformation, information regarding a RAR window configuration that theconnecting UE 115-a may utilize to monitor for aspects of a randomaccess response message (e.g., message 2, including control informationand/or RAR).

The RAR window configuration may indicate which RAR windows support asingle control information (and/or RAR) transmission and which RARwindows support repeated control information (and/or RAR) transmissions.Whether a particular RAR window supports single instances or repeatinginstances can be predefined (e.g., based on timing, pattern(s), etc.) ordynamically configured by the base station (e.g., based on communicationlink, network load, signal strength, interference, etc.). The RAR windowconfiguration may further indicate, for RAR windows that supportrepeated transmissions, that different segments of the RAR window havedifferent operating parameters. For example, a first segment (or groupof segments) may support single instances of control information (and/orRAR) and a second segment (or group of the segments) may supportrepetition of control information (and/or RAR). Based on the RAR windowconfiguration, the UE 115-a can identify one or more receptionopportunities for the control information in the RAR window.

In some cases, the base station 105-a may indicate parameters of the RARwindow configuration (e.g., RAR window length, RAR window type (e.g.,single instance or repetitions), segment type (e.g., single instance orrepetitions), number of repetitions, etc.) via one or more bits, fields,or indicators in the system information. In some instances, the UE 115-autilizes a LUT or other mapping to map value(s) of the one or more bits,fields, or indicators in the system information to correspondingparameters of the RAR window configuration.

The UE 115-a may transmit a random access request to the base station105-a to initiate the random access procedure, which may include a PRACHpreamble and a radio network temporary identifier (RNTI), such as arandom access RNTI (RA-RNTI). The UE 115-a, using the random accessrequest, may indicate information to the base station 105-a about itsresource requirements. The base station 105-a may receive the randomaccess request from the UE 115-a and may respond by transmitting amessage 2, including control information and a RAR. In some cases, theUE 115-a may expect to receive the RAR within the RAR window indicatedby the system information broadcast by the base station 105-a. Duringthe RAR window, the base station 105-a may transmit control informationconveyed by a control channel (e.g., via the PDCCH) that may indicate tothe UE 115-a the location (e.g., the time and frequency resources) ofthe RAR conveyed by a data channel (e.g., via the PDSCH).

In some cases, the base station 105-a may transmit a single instance ofcontrol information during a number of slots included in a RAR window ora segment of the RAR window. The UE 115-a may attempt to receive anddecode each instance of the control information independently. Forexample, if the UE 115-a is unable to receive and decode a firstinstance of control information, the UE 115-a may discard theunsuccessfully received and/or decoded control information and mayattempt to receive and decode a second instance of control informationwithout storing any information associated with the first instance. Thisprocess may repeat for each monitoring occasion of the RAR window or thesegment of the RAR window until the UE 115-a successfully receives anddecodes a control information transmission or until the RAR window orsegment ends.

Upon successful reception of the control information, the UE 115-a maydecode the control information and perform a parity check (e.g., acyclic redundancy check (CRC)) on the control information. Based onperforming the parity check, the UE 115-a may determine that the controlinformation is relevant to a random access response from the basestation 105-a. In cases when the decoding and the parity check aresuccessful and the random access response is decoded, the UE 115-a maytransmit a message 3 (e.g., a radio resource control (RRC) connectionrequest) to the base station 105-a and the random access procedure mayadvance (e.g., the random access procedure may advance to a next step).

In some cases, the communication link 205 between the UE 115-a and thebase station 105-a may be associated with a link budget threshold (e.g.,a link margin) based on the link characteristics of communication link205. For example, a path loss, a received signal strength, and othercharacteristics may influence the link budget threshold of thecommunication link 205. As wireless communications systems, such aswireless communications system 200, aim to more efficiently and reliablyincrease throughput, additional frequency ranges may be used bycommunicating devices (e.g., UE 115-a and base station 105-a), which mayenable devices to achieve higher throughput. Higher frequency ranges(e.g., such as frequency ranges used in FR2, including millimeter wave(mmW) frequency ranges) may be implemented for wireless communications,where transmitting at these higher frequencies involves transmitting atshorter wavelengths. In some wireless communications systems, thedesignations FR1 and FR2 may refer to frequency ranges that areavailable for communicating using the wireless communications system.For example, FR1 may refer to frequency range between about 450 MHz andabout 7,125 MHz and FR2 may refer to a frequency range between about24,250 MHz and about 52,600 MHz. Shorter wavelengths may be susceptibleto greater path losses, which may adversely affect the link budgetthreshold (e.g., a link margin) of communication link 205. Further, thebase station 105-a may employ a relatively wide transmit beam fortransmissions to the UE 115-a. For example, the beamwidth of thetransmit beam of the base station 105-a may be based on (e.g.,proportional to) the number of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs)associated with the transmissions of the base station 105-a. Based onreceiving signals via a beam with a relatively wide beamwidth, the UE115-a may experience a lower received signal strength, which may alsoadversely affect the link budget threshold. In some cases, the linkbudget threshold may fall below a threshold value, which may result inan increase in communication failures over communication link 205.

In some examples, the base station 105-a may identify that the linkbudget is below a threshold value and, accordingly, determine that thebase station 105-a is operating in a low connectivity condition with theUE 115-a. In such examples, the control information associated with theRAR from the base station 105-a may have a lower likelihood ofsuccessful reception by the UE 115-a (e.g., based on the lowconnectivity and poor link conditions). If the control informationcannot be successfully decoded, the UE 115-a may be unable to determinethe location of the RAR and, therefore, may be unable to transmit an RRCconnection request, which may result in termination of the random accessprocedure without establishing a connection. The UE 115-a may have torestart the random access procedure by retransmitting a random accessrequest.

In some examples of the present disclosure, the random access procedurebetween the UE 115-a and the base station 105-a may experience moresuccessful random access procedure during low connectivity conditions bycombining (e.g., using soft combining) repeated instances of controlinformation transmissions. As described herein, a configurable RARwindow may be defined to enable a UE 115-a to combine multiple instancesof the control information associated with the RAR during one or moresegments of the RAR window and to decode and perform a parity check ofthe combined instances of the control information.

In some implementations, the base station 105-a may configure a RARwindow configuration to support combining multiple repetitions of thecontrol information associated with the RAR in a RAR window and/or oneor more segments of the RAR window. In some examples, the base station105-a may configure some RAR windows to support single transmissions andother RAR windows (or segment(s) of a RAR window) to support repeatedtransmissions. In some instances, the base station 105-a may segment aninitial (e.g., a default) RAR window length into two or more segments,where each segment may be associated with a particular type of controlinformation transmission pattern (e.g., a different repetition level).Additionally, or alternatively, the base station 105-a may append one ormore an additional RAR window length segments to the initial RAR windowlength and may configure the initial and/or additional segment(s) tosupport one or more control information transmission patterns. Thesegment(s) of the initial RAR window length may be time intervals withinthe initial RAR window length (e.g., an initial time window for theRAR). Similarly, the appended segments to an initial RAR window lengthmay be additional time intervals appended to the initial time window forthe RAR, effectively extending the time window for a RAR.

The base station 105-a may transmit the RAR window configuration via awindow configuration 210 to the UE 115-a. In some examples, the basestation 105-a may transmit the window configuration 210 as part of asystem information broadcast transmission (e.g., may be transmitted witha SIB and/or a master information block (MIB) via a PBCH, a broadcastcontrol channel (BCCH), or a broadcast channel (BCH), PDSCH, or acombination thereof) that may be received by a UE 115-a. Accordingly,the UE 115-a may attempt to connect to the base station 105-a using arandom access procedure and may know to use the RAR window configurationindicated by the window configuration 210. The window configuration 210may be an example of an indicator included in the system information.For example, a UE 115-a may receive the window configuration 210 andidentify the RAR window configuration based on identifying the indicatorincluded in the window configuration 210. In some implementations, theindicator may include an explicit configuration of the RAR window, whilein others the indictor may correspond to an entry (e.g., an index) in alook up table (LUT) or other mapping that the UE 115-a may use toidentify the RAR window configuration. For example, the windowconfiguration 210 may include an index value and the UE 115-a mayidentify information about the RAR window configuration based on theindex value (e.g., based on referencing the index value in a set ofpreconfigured RAR window configurations known to the UE 115-a). In someinstances, multiple mappings (e.g., multiple LUTs) may be available tochoose from and which mapping to use can be indicated in the systeminformation (e.g., via value(s) of a bit or field in a MIB or a SIB) inaddition to an associated index value to be utilized with the chosenmapping.

In some examples, the UE 115-a may monitor a number of slots for controlinformation transmission(s) associated with the RAR based on the RARwindow configuration received via the window configuration 210. Forexample, UE 115-a may identify a repetition level of the controlinformation, a number of repetitions of the control information,spacing(s) between control information instances, an index of thecontrol information, a location of the control information, or any otherinformation that may enable the UE 115-a to identify which instances ofcontrol information transmission may be paired or grouped together(e.g., may be associated with the same RAR) based on the windowconfiguration 210. Based on identifying this information from the windowconfiguration 210, the UE 115-a may identify a number of controlinformation instances that may be stored and combined with other controlinformation instances. The UE 115-a may effectively increase thereceived signal strength of the control information transmissions bycombining repetitions of the transmissions together, thereby increasingthe likelihood of successful decoding.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a process flow 300 that supportsmessage repetition for a random access procedure in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the process flow300 may implement aspects of wireless communications systems 100 and200. The process flow 300 may include UE 115-b and base station 105-b,which may be examples of the corresponding devices described withreference to FIGS. 1 and 2 . UE 115-b and base station 105-b mayimplement one or more techniques for implementing soft-combining ofcontrol information transmissions associated with a RAR during a randomaccess procedure between the UE 115-b and the base station 105-b.Alternative examples of the following may be implemented, where somesteps are performed in a different order than described or are notperformed at all. In some cases, steps may include additional featuresnot mentioned below, or further steps may be added.

At 305, the base station 105-b may identify that the base station 105-bis operating in a lower connectivity condition. For example, the basestation 105-b may identify that a link budget threshold of acommunication link between the UE 115-b and the base station 105-b(e.g., communication link 205 described with reference to FIG. 2 ) isless than a threshold value, which may be associated with an increase incommunication failures between the UE 115-b and the base station 105-b.In some examples, the link budget may fall below the threshold valuebased on a frequency range (e.g., and resulting path losses) of thetransmissions between the UE 115-b and the base station 105-b (e.g., theUE 115-b and the base station 105-b may employ relatively high frequencyranges, such as mmW frequency ranges used in FR2) and/or based on a beamwidth of the transmitting device (e.g., the base station 105-b mayemploy a relatively wide beam width, potentially resulting in a lowerreceived signal strength at the UE 115-b).

Additionally, the base station 105-b may identify that the base station105-b is operating in the low connectivity condition based on a numberof previous communication failures resulting from a variety ofadditional factors that may influence the link budget threshold (e.g.,link obstruction by an object, separation distance, and otherenvironmental factors). In cases when the base station 105-b identifiesthat a low connectivity condition applies, the base station 105-b maydetermine or predict that a random access procedure between the UE 115-band the base station 105-b may be unsuccessful. For example, based onidentifying a low connectivity condition applies to current operations,the base station 105-b may determine or predict that single instances ofcontrol information transmissions during a RAR window may be received bythe UE 115-b with an insufficient signal quality (e.g., a low SNR, a lowreceived signal strength, etc.) such that the UE 115-b may be unable tosuccessfully receive and decode individual instances of the controlinformation. Accordingly, the base station 105-b may determine that theUE 115-b will be unlikely to identify the location of the RAR and,therefore, unlikely to advance the random access procedure. In someinstances, step 305 is omitted.

At 310, the base station 105-b may identify a configuration of a RARwindow for communicating the RAR as part of a random access procedure.In some instances, the base station 105-b identifies the RAR windowconfiguration in accordance with predefined criteria (e.g., timing,pattern(s), etc.). In some instances, the base station 105-b identifiesthe RAR window configuration dynamically (e.g., based on communicationlink, network load, signal strength, interference, etc.). For example,the RAR window configuration may be identified based on determining thatthe base station 105-b is operating in a low connectivity condition. Forexample, the base station 105-b may identify a RAR window configurationsuch that the UE 115-b may experience a greater likelihood tosuccessfully receive control information associated with the RAR, andaccordingly may be more likely to receive the RAR and advance the randomaccess procedure. In some cases, the UE 115-b may more successfullyreceive and decode transmissions (e.g., instances of controlinformation) based on employing a combining technique (e.g., softcombining) that combines two or more transmissions together prior todecoding. In some instances, the base station 105-b identifies the RARwindow configuration semi-statically such that a current RAR windowconfiguration is maintained until a trigger event occurs, at which pointthe RAR window configuration is updated. The trigger event may bepredefined (e.g., timer, counter, etc.) or dynamically determined (e.g.,based on communication link, network load, signal strength,interference, etc.).

In some examples, the base station 105-b may identify a RAR windowconfiguration that includes a RAR window (or one or more segments of theRAR window) for transmitting multiple instances of control information(and/or RAR) and for the UE 115-b to use combining techniques to decodethe multiple instances of the control information. In some examples, asegment of the RAR window supporting multiple instances or repetitionsof control information (and/or RAR) follows a segment that supports onlya single instance of control information. In some examples, the RARwindow may be partitioned such that the initial (e.g., default) RARwindow length is separated into alternating segments that support asingle instance or multiple instances of control information (and/orRAR) (e.g., a segment supporting a single instance followed by a segmentsupport multiple instances followed by a segment supporting a singleinstance and so on). In some implementations, the base station 105-b mayidentify the RAR window configuration from a preconfigured set of RARwindow configurations (e.g., based on a LUT and/or a number of mappingsat the UE 115-b) or the base station 105-b may determine the RAR windowconfiguration.

In some examples, the base station 105-b may identify a RAR windowconfiguration that partitions an initial RAR window length into two ormore different segments types. For example, the base station 105-a mayconfigure a first segment (or group of segments) of the RAR windowlength to support transmitting single instances of the controlinformation (and/or RAR). Additionally, the base station 105-b mayconfigure a second segment (or group of segments) of the RAR windowlength to support transmitting repeating instances of the controlinformation (and/or RAR) in a number of slots (e.g., a number ofconsecutive (or non-consecutive) slots according to a repetition level).Further, the base station 105-b may configure one or more additionalsegments (or groups of segments) of the RAR window length to supporttransmitting repeating instances of the control information (and/or RAR)but with one or more different repetition parameter(s) (e.g., repetitionlevel, number of repetitions, repetition spacing(s)) relative to othersegments or groups of segments.

Additionally, or alternatively, the base station 105-b may identify aRAR window configuration that appends one or more additional segments tothe initial RAR window length. In a similar way to the above example ofpartitioning, the base station 105-b may configure the one or moresegments of the initial RAR window length and/or the appended segmentsto support transmitting single instances of the control information ormultiple instances of control information. In some examples, the initialRAR window and any appended segments may be partitioned into alternatingsegments that support a single instance or multiple instances of controlinformation (e.g., a segment supporting a single instance followed by asegment support multiple instances followed by a segment supporting asingle instance and so on) for the cumulative length of the RAR window.The base station 105-b may configure the RAR window with any number ofsegments and/or appended segments within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

Once the base station 105-b identifies and/or selects the RAR windowconfiguration, the base station 105-b may transmit a windowconfiguration at 315 to inform the UE 115-b of the RAR windowconfiguration so that both the UE 115-b and the base station 105-b mayoperate coherently (e.g., so that the UE 115-b knows when and how it maycombine instances of control information transmissions).

The base station 105-b may transmit the window configuration at 315,which may convey the RAR window configuration that may be used during arandom access procedure. In some examples, the base station 105-b maytransmit the window configuration via system information. For example,the base station 105-b may signal the window configuration by one ormore bits in a system information bitfield. In some cases, the basestation 105-b may signal the window configuration by one or moreadditional bits in a length bitfield that may define the RAR windowlength. Additionally, or alternatively, the base station 105-b maysignal the RAR window configuration via PBCH and/or PDSCH. For example,a MIB with RAR window configuration information may be transmitted viaPBCH. As another example, a SIB with RAR window configurationinformation may be transmitted in remaining minimum system information(RMSI) via PDSCH. The signaling may include information indicating aconfiguration of the RAR window into segments, where a first segment (orgroup of segments) support a single instance of control information anda second segment (or group of the segments) support repetition ofcontrol information. Likewise, the base station 105-b may also indicateto the UE 115-b, via the window configuration at 315, the number ofcontrol information repetitions in each segment of the RAR windowsupporting repeated transmissions by the system information.

In some implementations, the base station 105-b may explicitly signalthe RAR window configuration in the window configuration at 315. Inother implementations, the base station 105-b may transmit an indicationof the RAR window configuration that the UE 115-b may use to identifythe RAR window configuration (e.g., from a LUT). For example, the basestation 105-b may transmit, via the window configuration at 315, anindicator or an index value that the UE 115-b may use as an input intoLUT (e.g., a fixed table) and/or as an input into one of multiplemapping operations. Accordingly, the UE 115-b may receive the windowconfiguration (e.g., the system information including the windowconfiguration) that includes an indicator or an index value. In somecases, the indicator may include the index value. Further, in someinstances, the base station 105-b may transmit, via the windowconfiguration at 315, an indicator or an index value of a LUT that theUE 115-b may use to determine which LUT of a plurality of available LUTsor mapping operations should be utilized for identifying the RAR windowconfiguration to be used. The LUT indicator or index value may beincluded as part of the window configuration 315 or as part of aseparate communication.

At 320, the UE 115-b may identify the RAR window configuration forcommunicating (e.g., receiving) the control information (and/or RAR) aspart of a random access procedure based on receiving the systeminformation including the indicator or the index value. In someexamples, the UE 115-b may use the indicator or the index value as aninput into a LUT and/or a mapping function and, using the LUT and/or themapping function, may retrieve information about the RAR windowconfiguration. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE 115-b may use anindicator to otherwise identify the configuration of the RAR window. Forexample, the indictor may indicate one or more window lengths. Forinstance, the indictor may indicate a RAR window length, RAR window type(e.g., single instance or repetitions), segment type (e.g., singleinstance or repetitions), number of repetitions, an initial (e.g.,default) RAR window length, a number of appended window lengths (e.g.,appended window segments), a number of segment lengths that partition alarger window length, a number of segment lengths for one or moresegment types (e.g., supporting single transmission or supportingrepeated transmissions), and/or a combination thereof.

Based on receiving the window configuration at 315 via systeminformation from the base station 105-b, the UE 115-a may identify thetotal RAR window length, the RAR window type, the number of segments inthe RAR window, the type(s) of segments in the RAR window, the segmentlength(s) in the RAR window, and/or other parameters of the RAR windowbased on the RAR window configuration indicated in the systeminformation. Additionally, the UE 115-a may identify information about arepetition level associated with one or more segments of the RAR window.For example, the UE 115-a may identify that a first segment (or group ofsegments) of the RAR window may be associated with a single instance ofcontrol information and may not support repetitions. In some examples,the UE 115-a may identify that a second segment (or group of segments)of the RAR window is associated with a repetition level, where therepetition level may include a numerical quantity of slots for repeatingthe transmission of the control information. In some cases, therepetition level may include a numerical quantity of consecutive slotsfor repeating the transmission of the control information. In someimplementations, the UE 115-a may identify a number of slots that mayinclude control information repetitions and a location in each of thenumber of slots where the control information repetitions may bereceived. In some cases, the number of slots may be consecutive.

At 325, the UE 115-b may initiate the random access procedure and, at330, the UE 115-b may transmit a random access request to the basestation 105-b. For example, the UE 115-b may be an unserved UE 115-b ormay be switching from another base station 105-b and may attempt toconnect to the base station 105-b using a random access procedure. TheUE 115-b may use a contention-based random access procedure or acontention-free random access procedure. In some cases, the UE 115-b maytransmit the random access request to the base station 105-b as part ofa random access preamble. The random access request may include apreamble identification (ID) and an RA-RNTI. In some examples, the UE115-b may use the random access request to initiate the random accessprocedure and to provide an indication to the base station 105-b aboutthe resource requirement of the UE 115-b. Upon transmission of therandom access request, the UE 115-b may expect to receive a RAR duringan upcoming RAR window (e.g., according to the RAR window configurationidentified at 325).

At 335-a, during a RAR window for communicating a RAR, the UE 115-b mayidentify that the random access procedure is operating within a RARwindow (or segment of the RAR window) supporting a single instance ortransmission of the control information associated with the RAR.Similarly, at 335-b, the base station 105-b may identify that the randomaccess procedure is operating within the RAR window (or segment of theRAR window) supporting a single instance or transmission of the controlinformation associated with the RAR. At 340, based on identifying thatthe random access procedure is operating within the RAR window (orsegment of the RAR window) supporting a single instance or transmissionof the control information associated with the RAR, the base station105-b may transmit a single instance of the control informationassociated with a RAR. In some cases, the control information mayinclude a location (e.g., time and frequency resources) for receivingthe RAR.

The UE 115-b may attempt to receive and decode the single instance ofthe control information and may perform a parity check (e.g., a CRCparity check) on the control information. In some cases, the UE 115-bmay successfully receive and decode the control information (e.g., thelink budget may be above the threshold value) and identify the locationfor receiving the RAR. At 345, the base station 105-b may transmit theRAR and the UE 115-b may receive the RAR based on successfully receivingand decoding the control information at 340. In such cases, the UE 115-bmay skip to block 380, decode the random access response, and maytransmit a connection request 385 to the base station 105-b. Based inpart on transmitting the connection request, the UE 115-b may terminatemonitoring slots in the RAR window at 390-a and the base station 105-bmay advance the random access procedure at 390-b. In this manner, a UE115-b that is operating in a high connectivity condition (e.g.,featuring a communication link with a link budget that is greater thanthe threshold value) may refrain from monitoring more slots than may benecessary for the UE 115-b to establish a connection with the basestation 105-b.

However, in some examples (e.g., when the link budget threshold is belowthe threshold value), the UE 115-b may be unable to successfully decodethe single instance of control information at 340. In such examples andother instances, the base station 105-b may transmit a number ofinstances of control information associated with a RAR throughout anumber of slots associated with the RAR window (or segment of the RARwindow) supporting single transmission. The UE 115-b may attempt toreceive and decode each instance of the control informationindependently. For example, the UE 115-b may unsuccessfully attempt toreceive and decode a first instance of the control information in afirst slot and may discard the information related to the first instanceof the control information based on unsuccessfully receiving anddecoding the control information. In some cases, the UE 115-b may repeatthe process of discarding instances of control information that were notreceived and decoded successfully until the RAR window (or segment ofthe RAR window) expires. For example, the base station may identify thata timer associated with the RAR window (or segment of the RAR window)has expired and identify that the base station 105-b has not received aconnection request (e.g., a connection request that the UE 115-b maytransmit at 385 upon successfully receiving the RAR) indicating that theUE 115-b successfully received the RAR. Accordingly, the base station105-b may determine that the UE 115-b was unable to receive any of thesingle instances of the control information during the RAR window (orsegment of the RAR window).

Additionally, or alternatively, at 350-a, during a RAR window forcommunicating a RAR, the UE 115-b may identify that the random accessprocedure is operating within a RAR window (or segment of the RARwindow) supporting repeated instances or transmissions of the controlinformation associated with the RAR. Similarly, at 350-b, the basestation 105-b may identify that the random access procedure is operatingwithin the RAR window (or segment of the RAR window) supporting repeatedinstances or transmissions of the control information associated withthe RAR. As such, the UE 115-b and the base station 105-b may identifythat the random access procedure is operating within a RAR window (orsegment of the RAR window) configured for repeatedly transmittingcontrol information associated with the RAR. In some instances, steps350-A and 350-B precede 335-A and 335-B. That is, in some instances theUE 115-b and base station 105-b may determine, in response to the UE115-b initiating the random access procedure at 325, that the randomaccess procedure is operating within a RAR window (or segment of the RARwindow) supporting repeated instances or transmissions of the controlinformation associated with the RAR.

At 355, the UE 115-b may monitor, during the RAR window (or segment ofthe RAR window), a number of slots for instances (e.g., candidates) ofthe control information based on identifying that the random accessprocedure is operating within the portion of the RAR window configuredfor repeatedly transmitting the control information. In some examples,the number of slots may be consecutive to each other, such that the basestation 105-b may transmit a control information instance in each slotfor a number of consecutive slots. In some cases, the number (e.g., thenumerical quantity, such as 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, etc.) of slots may bebased on a repetition level associated with the second portion of theRAR window. Additionally, or alternatively, the UE 115-b may monitor alocation in non-consecutive slots for the control information instancesbased on the RAR window configuration. Additional information abouttransmission repetition schedules is described with reference to FIG. 5.

At 360, the base station 105-b may transmit repeating instances of thecontrol information associated with the RAR in a number of slots of theRAR window (or segment of the RAR window). For example, the base station105-b may repeatedly transmit identical copies of the controlinformation associated with the RAR. The number of slots may beconsecutive in some cases. In some examples, according to the RAR windowconfiguration, the base station 105-b may transmit each repeatinginstance of the control information in the same location of each of thenumber of consecutive slots (e.g., at the beginning of each slot).Additionally, or alternatively, the base station 105-b may link therepeating instances of the control information via a repetition level.For example, the base station 105-b may transmit each instance of therepeating instances of the control information in a same location withina slot and/or each instance may feature the same repetition level, suchthat each instance of the control information may have the same numberof control channel elements (CCEs) included in the control information.Additionally, or alternatively, each instance of the repeating instancesof the control information may be associated with an index that linksthe repeating instances together. In some examples, the repeatinginstances of the control information may all feature the same index. Inadditional examples, however, the indexes of the repeating instances ofthe control information may follow a pattern included in the RAR windowconfiguration.

Also at 360, the UE 115-b may attempt to receive (and decode) therepeatedly transmitted instances of the control information from thebase station 105-b. In some cases, the base station 105-b may transmitrepeating instances of the control information and the UE 115-b maymonitor for repeating control information instances (e.g., instances ofthe control information that are linked according to the RAR windowconfiguration). In some examples, the UE 115-b may identify a number ofcontrol information instances while monitoring the number of slots andstore the number of control information instances while monitoring foradditional instances. The instances of the control information receivedby the UE 115-b and used for the combining may be similar or identicalcopies of the control information transmitted by the base station 105-b.The copies of the control information instances received by the UE 115-bmay have slight differences due to disturbances that occur duringcommunication of the signals that carry the copies of the instances ofthe control information.

At 365, the UE 115-b may combine (e.g., using soft-combining) the numberof control information instances identified from monitoring the numberof slots of the RAR window (or segment of the RAR window). As describedherein, the UE 115-b may identify that a number of control informationinstances may be combined based on the information included in the RARwindow configuration (e.g., based on RAR window type, based on segmenttype, based on a number of repetitions, a location in each slot, arepetition level, an index, and/or a combination thereof associated witheach of the control information instances). Based on combining thenumber of control information instances, the UE 115-a may effectivelyincrease the received signal strength or received signal-to-noise ratio(SNR) of the control information transmissions from the base station105-b. For example, the UE 115-a may receive a number of partial,incomplete, or partially erroneous control information instances and,after combining, may construct a complete or near-complete controlinformation signal.

At 370, the UE 115-b may attempt to decode the combined controlinformation instances. In some examples, the UE 115-b may successfullydecode the combined control information instances based on constructinga complete or near-complete control information signal from a number ofthe control information instances transmitted by the base station 105-b.Additionally, the UE 115-b may perform a parity check on the controlinformation generated from combining the control information instances.In some cases, decoding the control information occurs after performingthe parity check. The UE 115-b may detect any errors in the controlinformation generated by combining the number of instances, and based onsuccessfully performing the parity check the UE 115-b may identify thelocation (e.g., time and frequency resources) for a RAR corresponding tothe random access request transmitted by the UE 115-b at 330.

At 375, the base station 105-b may transmit the RAR, and the UE 115-bmay successfully receive and decode the RAR, at 380, based on theresource allocation indicated by the control information. In some cases,the UE 115-b may decode the RAR and identify an uplink resourceallocation (e.g., an uplink grant) for transmitting a message 3 (e.g.,an RRC connection request) that the UE 115-b may transmit using thephysical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). At 385, the UE 115-b maytransmit the connection request (e.g., the RRC connection request).Accordingly, the base station 105-b may receive the connection requestand may advance the random access procedure, at 390-b, based onreceiving the connection request. Correspondingly, the UE 115-b, at390-a, may terminate monitoring slots in the RAR window (or segment ofthe RAR window) based on receiving the RAR and transmitting theconnection request (e.g., advancing the random access procedure).

FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D illustrate examples of window configurationsthat support message repetition for a random access procedure inaccordance with aspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, RARwindow configurations 405-a, 405-b, 405-c, and 405-d support segmentingone or more RAR windows to include at least one segment that supportsrepeated transmissions of control information (and/or RAR) in order toenable a UE 115 to employ soft-combining techniques to increase thelikelihood that the UE 115 may successfully receive the controlinformation (e.g., PDCCH transmissions) and/or RAR (e.g., PDSCHtransmissions) during a random access procedure and, therefore, increasethe likelihood the UE 115 will successfully connect to the base station.

In some examples, the base station 105 may broadcast (e.g., via PBCH,BCCH, BCH, etc.) system information (e.g., SIB and/or MIB) to a numberof UEs 115. The system information may indicate a variety of informationincluding a RAR window configuration. Based on receiving the systeminformation, the number of UEs 115 may identify the RAR windowconfiguration 405. In some examples, each UE 115 of the number of UEs115 may perform a random access procedure to connect to the base station105 according to the indicated RAR window configuration 405.

In the examples of FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D each window configuration405 may feature a first segment type 415, a second segment type 420,and/or a third segment type 425. In some examples, each segment type415, 420, 425 may support a different type of control information(and/or RAR) transmission. For example, the first segment type 415 maysupport single instances of control information (and/or RAR)transmissions. In some cases, the first segment type 415 may relate toaspects of FIG. 3 where single instances of the control informationassociated with a RAR are transmitted (e.g., steps 335-A, 335-B, 340,345).

The second segment type 420 may support repeated instances of controlinformation (and/or RAR) transmissions. For example, the second segmenttype 420 may be associated with a first number of slots of the RARwindow, and the base station 105 may transmit identical copies(sometimes referred to as instances) of the control information in eachof a second number of slots (e.g., consecutive slots) according to arepetition level associated with the second segment type 420, where thesecond number of slots may be equal to or less than the first number ofslots. In some cases, the second segment type 420 may relate to aspectsof FIG. 3 where repeated instances of the control information associatedwith a RAR are transmitted (e.g., steps 350-A, 350-B, 355, 360).

Additionally, the third segment type 425 may support repeated instancesof control information (and/or RAR) transmissions. For example, thethird segment type 425 may be associated with a third number of slots ofthe RAR window, and the base station 105 may transmit identical copies(sometimes referred to as instances) of the control information in eachof a fourth number of slots (e.g., consecutive slots) according to arepetition level associated with the third segment type 425, where thefourth number of slots may be equal to or less than the third number ofslots. The repetition level of the third segment type 425 may different(e.g., a greater or fewer number of repetitions, larger or smallerrepetition spacing/density, etc.) than the repetition level of thesecond segment type 420. In some cases, the third segment type 425 mayrelate to aspects of FIG. 3 where repeated instances of the controlinformation associated with a RAR are transmitted (e.g., steps 350-A,350-B, 355, 360).

While the examples of FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D may include one or moreof the three identified segment types 415, 420, 425, it is understoodthat any number of segment types may be defined and used withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. For example, awindow configuration may include one segment type, two segment types,three segment types, four segment types, five segment types, six segmenttypes, seven segment types, eight segment types, etc. In some instances,each of the segment types may define a different repetition level forthe control information associated with the random access response of arandom access procedure.

Further, while the RAR window examples of FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4Dinclude one, two, three, or four segments, it is understood that a RARwindow may be segmented into any number of segments (of one or moresegment types) without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. For example, a RAR window in accordance with a RAR windowconfiguration of the present disclosure may include one segment, twosegments, three segments, four segments, five segments, six segments,seven segments, eight segments, etc. In some instances, each segment isassociated with a repetition level (e.g., 0, 1, 2, 3, etc.) indicativeof the number of transmission repetitions of the control information(and/or RAR) for that segment.

In some instances, the base station 105 may transmit control informationat a progressively greater repetition level. As such, a first set of UEs115 of the number of UEs 115 may be associated with good link conditions(e.g., may be in a higher connectivity state) and may successfullyreceive and decode a single instance of a control informationtransmission. Accordingly, the first set of UEs 115 may successfullyconnect to the base station 105 during the first segment type 415 of aRAR window that includes a single transmission of the controlinformation. In some examples, a second set of UEs 115 may be associatedwith relatively worse link conditions (e.g., may be in a lowerconnectivity state) and may have been unable to successfully receive anddecode the single instance of the control information transmissionduring the first segment type 415.

In such examples, the first set of UEs 115 may terminate theirmonitoring occasions and the base station 105 may advance the randomaccess procedure for the first set of UEs 115. On the other hand, thesecond set of UEs 115 may identify that their random access procedure isoperating within the second segment type 420 (e.g., the second set ofUEs 115 may still be attempting to receive and decode the controlinformation). During the second segment type 420, the second set of UEs115 may combine multiple control information instances according to thewindow configuration 405 and the repetition level of the second segmenttype 420 (e.g., which may increase the likelihood of successfullyreceiving and decoding the control information during the RAR window).In some cases, a third set of UEs 115 (e.g., a subset of the second setthat may be in a lower connectivity state) may still be unable toreceive and decode the control information during the second segmenttype 420. Accordingly, the third set of UEs 115 may identify that theirrandom access procedure is operating within the third segment type 425that, in some instances, may be associated with a greater repetitionlevel than the second segment type 420, further increasing thelikelihood of successfully receiving and decoding the controlinformation.

This process may continue with the UEs monitoring for the instances ofthe control information during each segment type based on the repetitionlevel associated with the segment type. In this regard, in someinstances a RAR window may alternate between a segment that provides fora single transmission of the control information (and/or RAR) (e.g., thefirst segment type 415) and a segment type that provides for repeatedtransmissions of the control information (and/or RAR) (e.g., the secondor third segment types 420 and/or 425). Such an alternating approach mayfacilitate the successful connection of UEs at a lower connectivitystate earlier in the RAR window as compared to approaches that increasethe repetition level of the segments later into or at the end of the RARwindow. However, in some instances of the present disclosure thesegments of a RAR window increase in repetition level later into or atthe end of the RAR window.

Window configuration 405-a of FIG. 4A may be an example of a RAR windowconfiguration that supports the techniques of the present disclosure.Window configuration 405-a may be associated with a RAR window pattern.For example, in the illustrated example the window configuration 405-aincludes a RAR window 410. The RAR window 410 has a window length 410-a.In some cases, window length 410-a may be associated with an initial(e.g., a default) window length of a RAR window that was indicated bythe system information from the base station 105. For RAR window 410,the segment length 415-a of the segment 415 is equal to the windowlength 410-a. That is, the RAR window 410 includes one segment (segment415) that supports a single instance of control information transmissionfor an associated RAR.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 4A, the window configuration 405-aalso includes a RAR window 412. The RAR window 412 has a window length412-a. In some cases, window length 412-a may be associated with aninitial (e.g., a default) window length of a RAR window that wasindicated by the system information from the base station 105. In someinstances, window length 412-a is equal to window length 410-a. In otherinstances, the window length 412-a is longer (or shorter) than windowlength 410-a. RAR window 412 includes a first segment 415 and a secondsegment 420. The first segment 415 has a segment length 415-a, while thesecond segment 420 has a segment length 420-a. The segment lengths 415-aand 420-a collectively equal the window length 412-a. That is, the RARwindow 412 includes two segments (segments 415 and 420), where onesegment (segment 415) supports a single instance of control informationtransmission for an associated RAR and the other segment (segment 420)supports repeated transmissions of the control information for anassociated RAR. Accordingly, RAR window 412 illustrates partitioning aRAR window into two or more segments, where at least one segment may beconfigured for repeatedly transmitting the control information (and/orRAR) as indicated by the system information.

In some instances, the RAR window 412 may be spaced in time from the RARwindow 410. For example, the RAR window 412 may be spaced from the RARwindow in accordance with a RAR window pattern, which may be based ontime (e.g., 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 50 ms, 80 ms, or any other suitabletime or timer based spacing), RAR window type pattern (e.g., everyother, third, fourth, fifth, etc. RAR window can be configured tosupport repeated transmissions (or single transmission) of controlinformation), and/or a combination thereof. In some instances, the RARwindow configuration may indicate a series of RAR windows that eachsupport a single instance of control information transmission (e.g., RARwindow 410) interspersed with a RAR window that supports repeatedinstances of control information transmission (e.g., RAR window 412). Inthis regard, each RAR window may occur at a fixed time interval (e.g.,10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 50 ms, 80 ms, or any other suitable time) and theinterspersed RAR window supporting repeated instances of controlinformation transmission (and/or RAR transmission) may occur after aparticular number of RAR windows (e.g., one, two, three, four, etc.)and/or after a particular amount of time or time interval (e.g., 20 ms,40 ms, 50 ms, 80 ms, or any other suitable time). In this manner, a RARwindow pattern may dictate which RAR windows support a singletransmission of control information (and/or RAR) (e.g., RAR window 410)and which RAR windows support repeated transmission of controlinformation (and/or RAR) (e.g., RAR window 412).

In some instances, the base station 105 may dynamically configure one ormore RAR windows to support repeated transmissions of the controlinformation. In some examples, the BS 105 may also dynamically configurethe level(s) of repetition for the associated segments of the RARwindows. In some examples, the base station 105 may dynamicallyconfigure one or more RAR windows based on communication link, networkload, signal strength, interference, or other factors. The base station105 may communicate system information to indicate the dynamicallyconfigured RAR window configuration.

Window configuration 405-b of FIG. 4B may be another example of a RARwindow configuration that supports the techniques of the presentdisclosure. As shown, window configuration 405-b may be associated withalternating segment types. For example, the window configuration 405-bincludes a repeating pattern of a segment that provides for a singletransmission of the control information (and/or RAR) (e.g., the firstsegment 415) and a segment that provides for repeated transmissions ofthe control information (and/or RAR) (e.g., the second segment 420).While the illustrated example includes two alternating sequences withinthe RAR window, it is understood that any number of sets of thealternating sequence may be utilized. Further, while the illustratedexample alternates between two segment types, it is understood that anyrepeating pattern, weighted pattern, and/or random pattern of two,three, four, five, six, seven, eight, etc. different segment types maybe utilized.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 4B, a RAR window of the windowconfiguration 405-b has a window length 435. In some cases, the windowlength 435 may be associated with an initial (e.g., a default) windowlength of a RAR window that was indicated by the system information fromthe base station 105. Each occurrence of a first segment 415 of the RARwindow has a segment length 415-a, while each occurrence of a secondsegment 420 has a segment length 420-a. The repeating pattern of thesegments 415 and 420 collectively equal the window length 435. That is,the illustrated RAR window includes four segments (two instances of eachof segments 415 and 420), where two segments (each instance of segment415) support a single instance of control information transmission foran associated RAR and two segments (each instance of segment 420)support repeated transmissions of the control information for anassociated RAR. Accordingly, the RAR window of the window configuration405-b illustrates another example of partitioning a RAR window into twoor more segments, where at least one segment may be configured forrepeatedly transmitting the control information (and/or RAR) asindicated by the system information.

Window configuration 405-c of FIG. 4C may be another example of a RARwindow configuration that supports the techniques of the presentdisclosure. Window configuration 405-c includes a RAR window having awindow length 440. In some cases, window length 440 may be associatedwith an initial (e.g., a default) window length of a RAR window that wasindicated by the system information from the base station 105. The RARwindow includes a first segment 415 with a segment length 415 c, asecond segment 420 with a segment length 420-c, and third segment 425with a segment length 425-c. The segments 415, 420, and 425 arecontiguous. The segment lengths 415-c, 420-c, and 425-c collectivelyequal the window length 440. That is, the RAR window 412 includes threesegments (segments 415, 420, and 425), where the first segment 415supports a single instance of control information transmission for anassociated RAR, the second segment 420 supports repeated transmissionsof the control information for an associated RAR at a first repetitionlevel, and the third segment 425 supports repeated transmissions of thecontrol information for an associated RAR at a second repetition leveldifferent than first repetition level. In some instances, the secondrepetition level of the third segment 425 is greater than the firstrepetition level of the second segment 420. In other instances, thesecond repetition level of the third segment 425 is lower than the firstrepetition level of the second segment 420. Accordingly, the windowconfiguration 405-c illustrates partitioning a RAR window into three ormore segments, where at least two segments may be configured forrepeatedly transmitting the control information (and/or RAR) asindicated by the system information.

Window configuration 405-d of FIG. 4D may be another example of a RARwindow configuration that supports the techniques of the presentdisclosure. Window configuration 405-d is similar to windowconfiguration 405-c in some respects, but the segments 415, 420, and 425are not contiguous in window configuration 405-d. That is, there is aspace or a gap between the segments 415, 420, and 425 in windowconfiguration 405-d. In some instances, the segments 415, 420, and 425collectively define a single RAR window. In some instances, each of thesegments 415, 420, and 425 itself defines a separate RAR window. Asshown, the window configuration 405-d includes three segments (segments415, 420, and 425), where the first segment 415 supports a singleinstance of control information transmission for an associated RAR, thesecond segment 420 supports repeated transmissions of the controlinformation for an associated RAR at a first repetition level, and thethird segment 425 supports repeated transmissions of the controlinformation for an associated RAR at a second repetition level differentthan first repetition level. In some instances, the second repetitionlevel of the third segment 425 is greater than the first repetitionlevel of the second segment 420. In other instances, the secondrepetition level of the third segment 425 is lower than the firstrepetition level of the second segment 420. Accordingly, the windowconfiguration 405-d illustrates partitioning a RAR window into three ormore discontinuous segments (or separate RAR windows defined by each ofthe segments), where at least two segments may be configured forrepeatedly transmitting the control information as indicated by thesystem information.

It is understood that the various features of the RAR windowconfigurations illustrated in FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C, and 4D may be utilizedin combination with one another. For example, a RAR window type patternand/or dynamic configuration of RAR window types consistent with FIG. 4Amay be used in combination with the segment type patterns of FIGS. 4B,4C, and 4D, including with contiguous segments (e.g., FIGS. 4B and 4C)and/or discontinuous segments (e.g., FIG. 4D).

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a repetition schedule 500 that supportsmessage repetition for a random access procedure in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure. In some examples, the repetitionschedule 500 may illustrate how a base station 105 may transmit a numberof instances of the control information (and/or RAR) in a number ofconsecutive (or non-consecutive) slots. Based on using the repetitionschedule 500, a UE 115 may be more likely to connect to the base station105 using a random access procedure during a low connectivity condition.

The repetition schedule 500 may include a number of slots, such as slot505-a, slot 505-b, slot 505-c, and slot 505-d. A control resource set(coreset) 520 may be inside each slot, and an instance of a controlinformation 515 may be included inside each coreset 520. In someexamples, each instance of the control information 515 may be in thesame location in each of the number of slots 505. For example, the basestation 105 may transmit all instances of control information 515associated with the same RAR such that the UE 115 may receive thecontrol information at monitoring occasions 510-a, 510-b, 510-c, and510-d (e.g., at the same location in each consecutive slot). Similarly,the base station 105 may transmit repeated instances of the RARassociated with the repeated control information over a channel (e.g.,PDSCH) of each of slot 505-a, slot 505-b, slot 505-c, and slot 505-d. Inother instances, the base station 105 may transmit a single instance ofthe RAR associated with the repeated control information.

Additionally, or alternatively, each instance of the control information515 may be associated with the same repetition level, and the UE 115 mayidentify the repetition level of each instance of the controlinformation 515 to identify which instances of control information 515may be linked (e.g., combined). For example, each instance of thecontrol information 515 may include the same number of CCEs.Additionally, or alternatively, each instance of the control information515 may be associated with an index that the UE 115 may use to link(e.g., combine) a number of instances of the control information 515. Insome cases, one or more instances of the control information 515 may bein different locations in each of the number of slots 505, such as slot505-a, slot 505-b, slot 505-c, and slot 505-d.

FIG. 6 shows a block diagram 600 of a device 605 that supports messagerepetition for a random access procedure in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure. The device 605 may be an example of aspects of aUE 115 as described herein. The device 605 may include a receiver 610, acommunication manager 615, and a transmitter 620. The device 605 mayalso include a processor. Each of these components may be incommunication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).

The receiver 610 may receive information such as packets, user data, orcontrol information associated with various information channels (e.g.,control channels, data channels, and information related to messagerepetition for random access procedure, etc.). Information may be passedon to other components of the device 605. The receiver 610 may be anexample of aspects of the transceiver 915 described with reference toFIG. 9 . The receiver 610 may utilize a single antenna or a set ofantennas.

The communication manager 615 may receive an indication of a randomaccess response (RAR) window configuration. The RAR window configurationmay indicate one or more RAR windows support a single instance ofcontrol information and indicate one or more RAR windows supportrepeated instances of the control information. The RAR windowconfiguration may indicate one or more first segments of a RAR windowsupport a single instance of control information and indicate one ormore second segments of the RAR window support repeated instances of thecontrol information. The communication manager 615 may determine, basedon the RAR window configuration, whether a random access procedure isoperating within the one or more first segments of the RAR window oroperating within the one or more second segments. The communicationsmanager 615 may determine, based on the RAR window configuration,whether a segment of a current RAR window supports a single instance ofcontrol information or repeated instances of the control information.The communication manager 615 may monitor, based on the determining, oneor more slots of the RAR window for the single instance of the controlinformation or the repeated instances of the control information. Thecommunication manager 615 may monitor, based on determining the currentRAR window or a segment of a current RAR window supports a singleinstance of control information, for the single instance of the controlinformation in one or more slots of the RAR window. The communicationmanager 615 may monitor, based on determining the current RAR window ora segment of a current RAR window supports repeated instances of controlinformation, the repeated instances of the control information inmultiple slots of the RAR window. The communication manager 615 may beconfigured to perform one or more of the steps, or aspects of the steps,described with respect to FIGS. 14 and 15 . The communication manager615 may be an example of aspects of the communication manager 910described herein.

The communication manager 615, or its sub-components, may be implementedin hardware, code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by a processor,or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executed by aprocessor, the functions of the communication manager 615, or itssub-components may be executed by a general-purpose processor, a digitalsignal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit(ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmablelogic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardwarecomponents, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functionsdescribed in the present disclosure.

The communication manager 615, or its sub-components, may be physicallylocated at various positions, including being distributed such thatportions of functions are implemented at different physical locations byone or more physical components. In some examples, the communicationmanager 615, or its sub-components, may be a separate and distinctcomponent in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.In some examples, the communication manager 615, or its sub-components,may be combined with one or more other hardware components, includingbut not limited to an input/output (I/O) component, a transceiver, anetwork server, another computing device, one or more other componentsdescribed in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

The transmitter 620 may transmit signals generated by other componentsof the device 605. In some examples, the transmitter 620 may becollocated with a receiver 610 in a transceiver module. For example, thetransmitter 620 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 915described with reference to FIG. 9 . The transmitter 620 may utilize asingle antenna or a set of antennas.

In some examples, the communication manager 615 may be implemented as anintegrated circuit or chipset for a mobile device modem, and thereceiver 610 and transmitter 620 may be implemented as analog components(e.g., amplifiers, filters, antennas) coupled with the mobile devicemodem to enable wireless transmission and reception over one or morebands.

The communication manager 615 as described herein may be implemented torealize one or more potential advantages. One implementation may allow aUE 115 to connect to a base station 105 while operating in a lowconnectivity condition with minimal signaling and low overhead,resulting in increased processing efficiency. Further, anotherimplementation may allow the UE 115 to increase the likelihood ofsuccessfully decoding the control information associated with a RAR,reducing the chance that the UE 115 may need to repeat the entire randomaccess procedure. This may save processing time, reduce latency, andimprove power savings and improve battery life. Likewise, anotherimplementation may allow the UE 115 to increase the likelihood ofsuccessfully decoding a RAR, reducing the chance that the UE 115 mayneed to repeat the entire random access procedure. Again, this may saveprocessing time, reduce latency, and improve power savings and improvebattery life.

Based on techniques for efficiently communicating a RAR windowconfiguration that enables a UE 115 to perform soft-combining during aRAR window of a random access procedure, a processor of the UE 115(e.g., controlling the receiver 610, the transmitter 620 or atransceiver 915 as described with respect to FIG. 9 ) may increasesystem efficiency and decrease unnecessary processing at a device.

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram 700 of a device 705 that supports messagerepetition for a random access procedure in accordance with aspects ofthe present disclosure. The device 705 may be an example of aspects of adevice 605, or a UE 115 as described herein. The device 705 may includea receiver 710, a communication manager 715, and a transmitter 730. Thedevice 705 may also include a processor. Each of these components may bein communication with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).

The receiver 710 may receive information such as packets, user data, orcontrol information associated with various information channels (e.g.,control channels, data channels, and information related to messagerepetition for random access procedure, etc.). Information may be passedon to other components of the device 705. The receiver 710 may be anexample of aspects of the transceiver 915 described with reference toFIG. 9 . The receiver 710 may utilize a single antenna or a set ofantennas.

The communication manager 715 may be an example of aspects of thecommunication manager 615 as described herein. The communication manager715 may include a repetition manager 720 and a decoding manager 725. Thecommunication manager 715 may be an example of aspects of thecommunication manager 910 described herein.

The repetition manager 720 may determine, based on a RAR windowconfiguration, whether a random access procedure is operating within oneor more first segments of a RAR window that support a single instance ofcontrol information or operating within one or more second segments ofthe RAR window that support repeated instances of the controlinformation. The repetition manager 720 may determine whether a segmentof a current RAR window supports a single instance of controlinformation or repeated instances of the control information. In thisregard, the repetition manager 720 may be configured to identify anumber of repetitions, a repetition level, an index, a location, and/orany other information regarding the transmission of the controlinformation (including any repetitions) and/or the RAR (including anyrepetitions) in a segment of the RAR window. The repetition parametersidentified by the repetition manager 720 may enable a UE to determinewhich transmissions are instances of the control information (and/or theRAR) such that the UE may know which transmissions to combine. In someinstances, the repetition manager 720 is further configured to monitor,based on what type of RAR window or segment the random access procedureis operating in (e.g., single instance or repeated instances), one ormore slots of the RAR window for the single instance of the controlinformation or the repeated instances of the control information.

The decoding manager 725 may decode the control information and/or therandom access response received as part of the random access procedurebased on combining the instances.

The transmitter 730 may transmit signals generated by other componentsof the device 705. In some examples, the transmitter 730 may becollocated with a receiver 710 in a transceiver module. For example, thetransmitter 730 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver 915described with reference to FIG. 9 . The transmitter 730 may utilize asingle antenna or a set of antennas.

FIG. 8 shows a block diagram 800 of a communication manager 805 thatsupports message repetition for a random access procedure in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure. The communication manager 805may be an example of aspects of a communication manager 615, acommunication manager 715, or a communication manager 910 describedherein. The communication manager 805 may include a repetition manager810, a decoding manager 815, a window manager 820, a system informationmanager 825, a response manager 830, a parity manager 835, and a randomaccess procedure manager 840. Each of these modules may communicate,directly or indirectly, with one another (e.g., via one or more buses).

The repetition manager 810 may determine, based on a RAR windowconfiguration, whether a random access procedure is operating within oneor more first segments of a RAR window that support a single instance ofcontrol information or operating within one or more second segments ofthe RAR window that support repeated instances of the controlinformation. In this regard, the repetition manager may be configured toidentify a number of repetitions, a repetition level, an index, alocation, and/or any other information regarding the transmission of thecontrol information (including any repetitions) and/or the RAR(including any repetitions) in a segment of the RAR window. Therepetition parameters identified by the repetition manager 720 mayenable a UE to determine which transmissions are instances of thecontrol information (and/or the RAR) such that the UE may know whichtransmissions to combine. In some instances, the repetition manager 720is further configured to monitor, based on what type of RAR window orsegment the random access procedure is operating in (e.g., singleinstance or repeated instances), one or more slots of the RAR window forthe single instance of the control information or the repeated instancesof the control information.

The decoding manager 815 may decode the control information and/orrandom access response received as part of the random access procedurebased on combining the instances.

The window manager 820 may receive and/or process an indication of arandom access response (RAR) window configuration. The RAR windowconfiguration may indicate that one or more first RAR windows support asingle instance of control information and indicate that one or moresecond RAR windows support repeated instances of the controlinformation. The window manager 820 may determine, based on the RARwindow configuration, whether a current RAR window (or segment of thecurrent RAR window) supports a single instance of control information orrepeated instances of the control information. In some instances, thewindow manager 820 may monitor, based on determining whether the currentRAR window (or segment of the current RAR window) supports a singleinstance of control information or repeated instances of the controlinformation, one or more slots of the current RAR window for the singleinstance of the control information or the repeated instances of thecontrol information. In some instances, the window manager 820 and therepetition manager 810 operate together to determine repetitionparameters of a RAR window or segment(s) of the RAR window.

The system information manager 825 may receive system information thatincludes an indication of a RAR window configuration. In some instances,the system information manager 825 is configured to determine the RARwindow configuration based on the indication. In some examples, thesystem information manager 825 may identify an index value of theconfiguration included in the system information. In some examples, thesystem information manager 825 may retrieve information about the RARwindow configuration based on identifying the index value (e.g., using aLUT or other mapping). In some examples, the system information manager825 may identify information about a repetition level associated withone or more RAR windows and/or segment(s) of one or more RAR windowsbased on the indication included in the system information.

In some examples, one or more of the functionalities of the repetitionmanager 810, window manager 820, and/or system information manager 825are combined in one of the repetition manager 810, window manager 820,and/or system information manager 825.

The response manager 830 may identify a location of the random accessresponse in a data channel based on one or more instances of the controlinformation, including combining multiple instances of the controlinformation in some instances. Decoding the random access response maybe based on identifying the location of the random access response inthe data channel based on the control information. In some cases, therandom access response includes a message2 of the random accessprocedure.

The parity manager 835 may perform a parity check on the controlinformation generated from combining the instances. In some examples,receiving and/or decoding the random access response is based onperforming the parity check.

The random access procedure manager 840 may initiate the random accessprocedure. In some examples, the random access procedure manager 840 maytransmit, to a base station, a random access request, where monitoringthe set of slots is based on transmitting the random access request. Insome examples, the random access procedure manager 840 may transmit, toa base station, a radio resource control connection request based ondecoding the random access response.

FIG. 9 shows a diagram of a system 900 including a device 905 thatsupports message repetition for a random access procedure in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure. The device 905 may be an exampleof or include the components of device 605, device 705, or a UE 115 asdescribed herein. The device 905 may include components forbi-directional voice and data communications including components fortransmitting and receiving communications, including a communicationmanager 910, a transceiver 915, an antenna 920, memory 925, and aprocessor 935. These components may be in electronic communication viaone or more buses (e.g., bus 940).

The communication manager 910 may receive an indication of a randomaccess response (RAR) window configuration, the RAR window configurationindicating one or more first segments of a RAR window support a singleinstance of control information and indicating one or more secondsegments of the RAR window support repeated instances of the controlinformation. The communication manager 910 may also determine, based onthe RAR window configuration, whether a random access procedure isoperating within the one or more first segments of the RAR window oroperating within the one or more second segments. The communicationmanager 910 may also monitor, based on the determining, one or moreslots of the RAR window for the single instance of the controlinformation or the repeated instances of the control information. Thecommunication manager 910 may be configured to perform one or more ofthe steps, or aspects of the steps, described with respect to FIGS. 14and 15 .

The transceiver 915 may communicate bi-directionally, via one or moreantennas, wired, or wireless links as described above. For example, thetransceiver 915 may represent a wireless transceiver and may communicatebi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. The transceiver 915may also include a modem to modulate the packets and provide themodulated packets to the antennas for transmission, and to demodulatepackets received from the antennas.

In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna 920.However, in some cases the device may have more than one antenna 920(e.g., two, three, four, five, six, etc. antennas), which may be capableof concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wirelesstransmissions.

The memory 925 may include random access memory (RAM) and/or read-onlymemory (ROM). The memory 925 may store computer-readable,computer-executable code 930 including instructions that, when executed,cause the processor to perform various functions described herein. Insome cases, the memory 925 may contain, among other things, a basicinput/output system (BIOS) which may control basic hardware or softwareoperation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices.

The code 930 may include instructions to implement aspects of thepresent disclosure, including instructions to support wirelesscommunications. The code 930 may be stored in a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium such as system memory or other type of memory.In some cases, the code 930 may not be directly executable by theprocessor 935 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled andexecuted) to perform functions described herein.

The processor 935 may include an intelligent hardware device, (e.g., ageneral-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, anFPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logiccomponent, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof).In some cases, the processor 935 may be configured to operate a memoryarray using a memory controller. In other cases, a memory controller maybe integrated into the processor 935. The processor 935 may beconfigured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory(e.g., the memory 925) to cause the device 905 to perform variousfunctions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting message repetition forrandom access procedure).

FIG. 10 shows a block diagram 1000 of a device 1005 that supportsmessage repetition for a random access procedure in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure. The device 1005 may be an example ofaspects of a base station 105 as described herein. The device 1005 mayinclude a receiver 1010, a communication manager 1015, and a transmitter1020. The device 1005 may also include a processor. Each of thesecomponents may be in communication with one another (e.g., via one ormore buses).

The receiver 1010 may receive information such as packets, user data, orcontrol information associated with various information channels (e.g.,control channels, data channels, and information related to messagerepetition for random access procedure, etc.). Information may be passedon to other components of the device 1005. The receiver 1010 may be anexample of aspects of the transceiver 1320 described with reference toFIG. 13 . The receiver 1010 may utilize a single antenna or a set ofantennas.

The communication manager 1015 may transmit an indication of a randomaccess response (RAR) window configuration. The RAR window configurationmay indicate one or more RAR windows support a single instance ofcontrol information and indicate one or more RAR windows supportrepeated instances of the control information. The RAR windowconfiguration may indicate one or more first segments of a RAR windowsupport a single instance of control information and indicate one ormore second segments of the RAR window support repeated instances of thecontrol information. The communication manager 1015 may determine, basedon the RAR window configuration, whether a random access procedure isoperating within the one or more first segments of the RAR window oroperating within the one or more second segments. The communicationsmanager 1015 may determine, based on the RAR window configuration,whether a segment of a current RAR window supports a single instance ofcontrol information or repeated instances of the control information.The communication manager 1015 may transmit the single instance of thecontrol information or the repeated instances of the control informationin one or more slots of the current RAR window. The communicationmanager 1015 may transmit, based on determining the current RAR windowor a segment of a current RAR window supports a single instance ofcontrol information, the single instance of the control information inone or more slots of the RAR window. The communication manager 1015 maytransmit, based on determining the current RAR window or a segment of acurrent RAR window supports a repeated instances of control information,the repeated instances of the control information in multiple slots ofthe RAR window. In some instances, the communication manager 1015 mayselect the RAR window configuration from a plurality of available RARwindow configurations. In some examples, the communication manager 1015may select the RAR window configuration based on communication link,network load, signal strength, interference, and/or combinationsthereof. The communication manager 1015 may be configured to perform oneor more of the steps, or aspects of the steps, described with respect toFIGS. 16 and 17 . The communication manager 1015 may be an example ofaspects of the communication manager 1310 described herein.

The communication manager 1015, or its sub-components, may beimplemented in hardware, code (e.g., software or firmware) executed by aprocessor, or any combination thereof. If implemented in code executedby a processor, the functions of the communication manager 1015, or itssub-components may be executed by a general-purpose processor, a DSP, anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a FPGA or otherprogrammable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discretehardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform thefunctions described in the present disclosure.

The communication manager 1015, or its sub-components, may be physicallylocated at various positions, including being distributed such thatportions of functions are implemented at different physical locations byone or more physical components. In some examples, the communicationmanager 1015, or its sub-components, may be a separate and distinctcomponent in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.In some examples, the communication manager 1015, or its sub-components,may be combined with one or more other hardware components, includingbut not limited to an input/output (I/O) component, a transceiver, anetwork server, another computing device, one or more other componentsdescribed in the present disclosure, or a combination thereof inaccordance with various aspects of the present disclosure.

The transmitter 1020 may transmit signals generated by other componentsof the device 1005. In some examples, the transmitter 1020 may becollocated with a receiver 1010 in a transceiver module. For example,the transmitter 1020 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver1320 described with reference to FIG. 13 . The transmitter 1020 mayutilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

FIG. 11 shows a block diagram 1100 of a device 1105 that supportsmessage repetition for a random access procedure in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure. The device 1105 may be an example ofaspects of a device 1005, or a base station 105 as described herein. Thedevice 1105 may include a receiver 1110, a communication manager 1115,and a transmitter 1125. The device 1105 may also include a processor.Each of these components may be in communication with one another (e.g.,via one or more buses).

The receiver 1110 may receive information such as packets, user data, orcontrol information associated with various information channels (e.g.,control channels, data channels, and information related to messagerepetition for random access procedure, etc.). Information may be passedon to other components of the device 1105. The receiver 1110 may be anexample of aspects of the transceiver 1320 described with reference toFIG. 13 . The receiver 1110 may utilize a single antenna or a set ofantennas.

The communication manager 1115 may be an example of aspects of thecommunication manager 1015 as described herein. The communicationmanager 1115 may include a repetition manager 1120 and/or a windowmanager 1122. The communication manager 1115 may be an example ofaspects of the communication manager 1310 described herein.

The repetition manager 1120 may determine, based on a RAR windowconfiguration, whether a random access procedure is operating within oneor more first segments of a RAR window that support a single instance ofcontrol information or operating within one or more second segments ofthe RAR window that support repeated instances of the controlinformation. The repetition manager 1120 may determine, based on a RARwindow configuration, whether a segment of a current RAR window supportsa single instance of control information or repeated instances of thecontrol information. The repetition manager 1120 may be configured toidentify one or more repetition parameters (e.g., number of repetitions,spacing of repetitions, etc.) for one or more segments of a RAR window.

The window manager 1122 may transmit an indication of a random accessresponse (RAR) window configuration. The RAR window configuration mayindicate that one or more first RAR windows support a single instance ofcontrol information and indicate that one or more second RAR windowssupport repeated instances of the control information. The windowmanager 1122 may determine, based on the RAR window configuration,whether a current RAR window (or segment of the current RAR window)supports a single instance of control information or repeated instancesof the control information. In some instances, the window manager 1122may transmit, based on determining whether the current RAR window (orsegment of the current RAR window) supports a single instance of controlinformation or repeated instances of the control information, the singleinstance of the control information or the repeated instances of thecontrol information in one or more slots of the current RAR window. Insome instances, the window manager 1122 may select the RAR windowconfiguration from a plurality of available RAR window configurations.In some examples, the window manager 1122 may select the RAR windowconfiguration based on communication link, network load, signalstrength, interference, and/or combinations thereof. In some instances,the window manager 1122 and the repetition manager 1120 operate togetherto determine repetition parameters of a RAR window or segment(s) of theRAR window.

The transmitter 1125 may transmit signals generated by other componentsof the device 1105. In some examples, the transmitter 1125 may becollocated with a receiver 1110 in a transceiver module. For example,the transmitter 1125 may be an example of aspects of the transceiver1320 described with reference to FIG. 13 . The transmitter 1125 mayutilize a single antenna or a set of antennas.

FIG. 12 shows a block diagram 1200 of a communication manager 1205 thatsupports message repetition for a random access procedure in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure. The communication manager 1205may be an example of aspects of a communication manager 1015, acommunication manager 1115, or a communication manager 1310 describedherein. The communication manager 1205 may include a repetition manager1210, a window manager 1215, a system information manager 1220, a randomaccess procedure manager 1225, and a connectivity manager 1230. Each ofthese modules may communicate, directly or indirectly, with one another(e.g., via one or more buses).

The repetition manager 1210 may determine, based on a RAR windowconfiguration, whether a random access procedure is operating within oneor more first segments of a RAR window that support a single instance ofcontrol information or operating within one or more second segments ofthe RAR window that support repeated instances of the controlinformation. The repetition manager 1210 may determine, based on a RARwindow configuration, whether a segment of a current RAR window supportsa single instance of control information or repeated instances of thecontrol information. The repetition manager 1210 may be configured toidentify one or more repetition parameters (e.g., number of repetitions,spacing of repetitions, etc.) for one or more segments of a RAR window.

The window manager 1215 may transmit an indication of a random accessresponse (RAR) window configuration. The RAR window configuration mayindicate that one or more first RAR windows support a single instance ofcontrol information and indicate that one or more second RAR windowssupport repeated instances of the control information. The windowmanager 1215 may determine, based on the RAR window configuration,whether a current RAR window (or segment of the current RAR window)supports a single instance of control information or repeated instancesof the control information. In some instances, the window manager 1215may transmit, based on determining whether the current RAR window (orsegment of the current RAR window) supports a single instance of controlinformation or repeated instances of the control information, the singleinstance of the control information or the repeated instances of thecontrol information in one or more slots of the current RAR window. Insome instances, the window manager 1215 may select the RAR windowconfiguration from a plurality of available RAR window configurations.In some examples, the window manager 1215 may select the RAR windowconfiguration based on communication link, network load, signalstrength, interference, and/or combinations thereof. In some instances,the window manager 1215 and the repetition manager 1210 operate togetherto determine repetition parameters of a RAR window or segment(s) of theRAR window.

The system information manager 1220 may transmit system information thatincludes an indicator of a RAR window configuration. In some examples,an index value identifies the RAR window configuration. The indicator ofthe RAR window configuration included in the system information mayinclude the index value.

The random access procedure manager 1225 may receive a radio resourcecontrol (RRC) connection request from a UE in response to transmitting asingle instance or repeated instances of control information (and/orRAR). The random access procedure manager 1225 may advance the randomaccess procedure upon receiving the RRC connection request. In someexamples, the random access procedure manager 1225 may receive, from auser equipment, a random access request, where transmitting the controlinformation, a single instance and/or repeated instances, is based onreceiving the random access request.

The connectivity manager 1230 may identify that the base station isoperating in a connectivity condition that satisfies a signal qualitythreshold. The connectivity manager 1230 may be configured tocommunicate the connectivity condition to the window manager 1215. Thewindow manager 1215 may utilize the connectivity condition to select aRAR window configuration.

FIG. 13 shows a diagram of a system 1300 including a device 1305 thatsupports message repetition for a random access procedure in accordancewith aspects of the present disclosure. The device 1305 may be anexample of or include the components of device 1005, device 1105, or abase station 105 as described herein. The device 1305 may includecomponents for bi-directional voice and data communications includingcomponents for transmitting and receiving communications, including acommunication manager 1310, a network communications manager 1315, atransceiver 1320, an antenna 1325, memory 1330, a processor 1340, and aninter-station communications manager 1345. These components may be inelectronic communication via one or more buses (e.g., bus 1350).

The communication manager 1310 may transmit an indication of a randomaccess response (RAR) window configuration. The RAR window configurationmay indicate one or more RAR windows support a single instance ofcontrol information and indicate one or more RAR windows supportrepeated instances of the control information. The RAR windowconfiguration may indicate one or more first segments of a RAR windowsupport a single instance of control information and indicate one ormore second segments of the RAR window support repeated instances of thecontrol information. The communication manager 1310 may determine, basedon the RAR window configuration, whether a random access procedure isoperating within the one or more first segments of the RAR window oroperating within the one or more second segments. The communicationsmanager 1015 may determine, based on the RAR window configuration,whether a segment of a current RAR window supports a single instance ofcontrol information or repeated instances of the control information.The communication manager 1310 may transmit the single instance of thecontrol information or the repeated instances of the control informationin one or more slots of the current RAR window. The communicationmanager 1310 may transmit, based on determining the current RAR windowor a segment of a current RAR window supports a single instance ofcontrol information, the single instance of the control information inone or more slots of the RAR window. The communication manager 1310 maytransmit, based on determining the current RAR window or a segment of acurrent RAR window supports a repeated instances of control information,the repeated instances of the control information in multiple slots ofthe RAR window. In some instances, the communication manager 1310 mayselect the RAR window configuration from a plurality of available RARwindow configurations. In some examples, the communication manager 1310may select the RAR window configuration based on communication link,network load, signal strength, interference, and/or combinationsthereof. The communication manager 1310 may be configured to perform oneor more of the steps, or aspects of the steps, described with respect toFIGS. 16 and 17 .

The network communications manager 1315 may manage communications withthe core network (e.g., via one or more wired backhaul links). Forexample, the network communications manager 1315 may manage the transferof data communications for client devices, such as one or more UEs 115.

The transceiver 1320 may communicate bi-directionally, via one or moreantennas, wired, or wireless links as described above. For example, thetransceiver 1320 may represent a wireless transceiver and maycommunicate bi-directionally with another wireless transceiver. Thetransceiver 1320 may also include a modem to modulate the packets andprovide the modulated packets to the antennas for transmission, and todemodulate packets received from the antennas.

In some cases, the wireless device may include a single antenna 1325.However, in some cases the device may have more than one antenna 1325(e.g., two, three, four, five, six, etc. antennas), which may be capableof concurrently transmitting or receiving multiple wirelesstransmissions.

The memory 1330 may include RAM and/or ROM. The memory 1330 may storecomputer-readable, computer-executable code 1335 including instructionsthat, when executed, cause the processor to perform various functionsdescribed herein. In some cases, the memory 1330 may contain, amongother things, a BIOS which may control basic hardware or softwareoperation such as the interaction with peripheral components or devices.

The code 1335 may include instructions to implement aspects of thepresent disclosure, including instructions to support wirelesscommunications. The code 1335 may be stored in a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium such as system memory or other type of memory.In some cases, the code 1335 may not be directly executable by theprocessor 1340 but may cause a computer (e.g., when compiled andexecuted) to perform functions described herein.

The processor 1340 may include an intelligent hardware device, (e.g., ageneral-purpose processor, a DSP, a CPU, a microcontroller, an ASIC, anFPGA, a programmable logic device, a discrete gate or transistor logiccomponent, a discrete hardware component, or any combination thereof).In some cases, the processor 1340 may be configured to operate a memoryarray using a memory controller. In other cases, a memory controller maybe integrated into the processor 1340. The processor 1340 may beconfigured to execute computer-readable instructions stored in a memory(e.g., the memory 1330) to cause the device 1305 to perform variousfunctions (e.g., functions or tasks supporting message repetition forrandom access procedure).

The inter-station communications manager 1345 may manage communicationswith other base station 105. The inter-station communications manager1345 may include a controller or scheduler for controllingcommunications with UEs 115 in cooperation with other base stations 105.For example, the inter-station communications manager 1345 maycoordinate scheduling for transmissions to UEs 115 for variousinterference mitigation techniques such as beamforming or jointtransmission. In some examples, the inter-station communications manager1345 may provide an X2 interface within an LTE/LTE-A wirelesscommunication network technology to provide communication between basestations 105.

FIG. 14 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1400 that supportsmessage repetition for a random access procedure in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1400 may beimplemented by a UE 115 or its components as described herein. Forexample, the operations of method 1400 may be performed by acommunication manager as described with reference to FIGS. 6 through 9 .In some examples, a UE may execute a set of instructions to control thefunctional elements of the UE to perform the described functions.Additionally, or alternatively, a UE may perform aspects of thedescribed functions using special-purpose hardware.

At 1405, the UE may receive, from a base station, an indication of arandom access response (RAR) window configuration. The RAR windowconfiguration may indicate one or more first segments of a RAR windowsupport a single instance of control information and indicate one ormore second segments of the RAR window support repeated instances of thecontrol information. The RAR window configuration may indicate the RARwindow includes an alternating pattern of the one or more first segmentsand the one or more second segments. The RAR window configuration mayindicate that each of the one or more first segments has a first lengthand each of the one or more second segments has a second length. Thesecond length may be different than the first length. The RAR windowconfiguration may indicate the RAR window is contiguous ornoncontiguous.

The receiving the indication of the RAR window configuration at 1405 mayinclude receiving system information from the base station. Thereceiving the system information from the base station may includereceiving at least one of a system information block (SIB) or a masterinformation block (MIB). The receiving the system information from thebase station may include receiving the system information via at leastone of a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) or a physical downlink sharedchannel (PDSCH). The operations of 1405 may be performed according tothe methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of theoperations of 1405 may be performed by a communication manager asdescribed with reference to FIGS. 6 through 9 .

At 1410, the UE may determine, based on the RAR window configuration,whether a random access procedure is operating within the one or morefirst segments of the RAR window or operating within the one or moresecond segments. The determining whether the random access procedure isoperating within the one or more first segments of the RAR window oroperating within the one or more second segments may include determiningwhether a scheduled RAR communication is scheduled within the one ormore first segments of the RAR window or scheduled within the one ormore second segments. The scheduled RAR communication may include atleast one of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) message or aphysical downlink control channel (PDCCH) message. The operations of1410 may be performed according to the methods described herein. In someexamples, aspects of the operations of 1410 may be performed by acommunication manager as described with reference to FIGS. 6 through 9 .

At 1415, the UE may monitor, based on the determination at 1410, one ormore slots of the RAR window for the single instance of the controlinformation or the repeated instances of the control information. Theoperations of 1415 may be performed according to the methods describedherein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1415 may beperformed by a communication manager as described with reference toFIGS. 6 through 9 .

The method 1400 may also include identifying, based on the receivedindication of the RAR window configuration, the RAR windowconfiguration. The identifying the RAR window configuration may includemapping one or more bits of the received indication of the RAR windowconfiguration to parameters of the RAR window configuration. The mappingone or more bits of the received indication of the RAR windowconfiguration to the parameters of the RAR window configuration mayinclude using a look-up table. The mapping one or more bits of thereceived indication of the RAR window configuration to the parameters ofthe RAR window configuration may include selecting a first look-up tablefrom a plurality of available look-up tables.

In some instances, the determining whether the random access procedureis operating within the one or more first segments of the RAR window oroperating within the one or more second segments includes determiningthe random access procedure is operating within the one or more secondsegments, and the monitoring the one or more slots of the RAR windowincludes monitoring a plurality of slots of the RAR window for therepeated instances of the control information. In some examples, themethod 1400 includes identifying a repetition level associated with theone or more second segments. The monitoring the plurality of slots ofthe RAR window for the repeated instances of the control information maybe based on the identified repetition level. In some examples, themethod 1400 includes receiving, from the base station based on themonitoring, two or more of the repeated instances of the controlinformation, combining the received, repeated instances of the controlinformation to form a combined control information; and decoding thecombined control information. The combining the received, repeatedinstances of the control information to form the combined controlinformation may include performing soft combining. The method 1400 mayinclude monitoring for a RAR message in a data channel based on thedecoded combined control information.

In some instances, the determining whether the random access procedureis operating within the one or more first segments of the RAR window oroperating within the one or more second segments includes determiningthe random access procedure is operating within the one or more secondsegments and the method 1400 may further include monitoring, based onthe determining, for repeated instances of a RAR message in a datachannel.

FIG. 15 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1500 that supportsmessage repetition for a random access procedure in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1500 may beimplemented by a UE 115 or its components as described herein. Forexample, the operations of method 1500 may be performed by acommunication manager as described with reference to FIGS. 6 through 9 .In some examples, a UE may execute a set of instructions to control thefunctional elements of the UE to perform the described functions.Additionally, or alternatively, a UE may perform aspects of thedescribed functions using special-purpose hardware.

At 1505, the UE may receive, from a base station, an indication of arandom access response (RAR) window configuration. The RAR windowconfiguration may indicate one or more first RAR windows support asingle instance of control information and indicate one or more secondRAR windows support repeated instances of the control information. Thereceiving the indication of the RAR window configuration at 1505 mayinclude receiving system information from the base station. Thereceiving the system information from the base station may includereceiving at least one of a system information block (SIB) or a masterinformation block (MIB). The receiving the system information from thebase station may include receiving the system information via at leastone of a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) or a physical downlink sharedchannel (PDSCH). The operations of 1505 may be performed according tothe methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of theoperations of 1505 may be performed by a communication manager asdescribed with reference to FIGS. 6 through 9 .

At 1510, the UE may determine, based on the RAR window configuration,whether a segment of a current RAR window supports a single instance ofcontrol information or repeated instances of the control information. Insome instances, the determining whether the segment of the current RARwindow supports the single instance of control information or therepeated instances of the control information includes determiningwhether the current RAR window is part of the one or more first RARwindows or the one or more second RAR windows. In some examples, thedetermining whether the current RAR window is part of the one or morefirst RAR windows or the one or more second RAR windows is based on apredefined pattern. In some instances, the predefined pattern is analternating pattern of the one or more first RAR windows and the one ormore second RAR windows. In some instances, the determining whether thecurrent RAR window is part of the one or more first RAR windows or theone or more second RAR windows is based on system information for thecurrent RAR window received from the base station. In some instances,the method 1500 includes receiving, from the base station, the systeminformation for the current RAR window via at least one of a systeminformation block (SIB), a master information block (MIB), remainingminimum system information (RMSI), a physical broadcast channel (PBCH),or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

In some instances, the determining whether the segment of the currentRAR window supports the single instance of control information or therepeated instances of the control information includes determiningwhether the segment of the current RAR window is one or more firstsegments of the current RAR window supporting the single instance ofcontrol information or one or more second segments of the current RARwindow supporting repeated instances of the control information. In someexamples, the determining whether the segment of the current RAR windowsupports the single instance of control information or the repeatedinstances of the control information further includes determiningwhether a RAR communication is scheduled within the one or more firstsegments of the current RAR window or scheduled within the one or moresecond segments of the current RAR window. The scheduled RARcommunication may include at least one of a physical downlink sharedchannel (PDSCH) message or a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)message.

The operations of 1510 may be performed according to the methodsdescribed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1510may be performed by a communication manager as described with referenceto FIGS. 6 through 9 .

At 1515, the UE may monitor, based on the determination at 1510, one ormore slots of the current RAR window for the single instance of thecontrol information or the repeated instances of the controlinformation. The operations of 1515 may be performed according to themethods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1515 may be performed by a communication manager as described withreference to FIGS. 6 through 9 .

In some instances, the determining whether the segment of the currentRAR window supports the single instance of control information or therepeated instances of the control information includes determining thesegment of the current RAR window supports repeated instances of thecontrol information and the monitoring the one or more slots of thecurrent RAR window includes monitoring a plurality of slots of thecurrent RAR window for the repeated instances of the controlinformation. In some instances, the monitoring the plurality of slots ofthe current RAR window for the repeated instances of the controlinformation is based on a repetition level. In some examples, the method1500 may include receiving, from the base station based on themonitoring, two or more of the repeated instances of the controlinformation, combining the received, repeated instances of the controlinformation to form a combined control information; and decoding thecombined control information. In some instances, the method 1500 mayinclude monitoring for a RAR message in a data channel based on thedecoded combined control information.

In some instances, the RAR window configuration further indicates one ormore third RAR windows support a single instance of a RAR message andindicates one or more fourth RAR windows support repeated instances ofthe RAR message and the method 1500 further includes determining, basedon the RAR window configuration, whether the segment of the current RARwindow supports the single instance of the RAR message or the repeatedinstances of the RAR message; and monitoring, based on the determiningwhether the segment of the current RAR window supports the singleinstance of the RAR message or the repeated instances of the RARmessage, a data channel for the single instance of the RAR message orthe repeated instances of the RAR message. In some instances, the one ormore third RAR windows at least partially overlap with the one or morefirst RAR windows. In some instances, the one or more fourth RAR windowsat least partially overlap with the one or more second RAR windows. Insome examples, the determining whether the segment of the current RARwindow supports the single instance of the RAR message or the repeatedinstances of the RAR message includes determining the segment of thecurrent RAR window supports the repeated instances of the RAR messageand the monitoring the data channel includes monitoring for the repeatedinstances of a RAR message in a data channel.

FIG. 16 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1600 that supportsmessage repetition for a random access procedure in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1600 may beimplemented by a base station 105 or its components as described herein.For example, the operations of method 1600 may be performed by acommunication manager as described with reference to FIGS. 10 through 13. In some examples, a base station may execute a set of instructions tocontrol the functional elements of the base station to perform thedescribed functions. Additionally, or alternatively, a base station mayperform aspects of the described functions using special-purposehardware.

At 1605, the base station may transmit an indication of a random accessresponse (RAR) window configuration. The RAR window configuration mayindicate one or more first segments of a RAR window support a singleinstance of control information and indicate one or more second segmentsof the RAR window support repeated instances of the control information.The RAR window configuration may indicate an alternating pattern of theone or more first segments and the one or more second segments. The RARwindow configuration may indicate that each of the one or more firstsegments has a first length and each of the one or more second segmentshas a second length. The second length may be different than the firstlength. The RAR window configuration may indicate that the RAR window iscontiguous or noncontiguous.

The transmitting the indication of the RAR window configuration mayinclude transmitting system information. The transmitting the systeminformation may include transmitting at least one of a systeminformation block (SIB) or a master information block (MIB). Thetransmitting the system information may include transmitting the systeminformation via at least one of a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) or aphysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). The transmitting the systeminformation may include transmitting an indicator associated with theRAR window configuration. The operations of 1605 may be performedaccording to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects ofthe operations of 1605 may be performed by a communication manager asdescribed with reference to FIGS. 10 through 13 .

At 1610, the base station may determine, based on the RAR windowconfiguration, whether a random access procedure is operating within theone or more first segments of the RAR window or operating within the oneor more second segments. In some instances, the determining whether therandom access procedure is operating within the one or more firstsegments of the RAR window or operating within the one or more secondsegments includes determining whether a scheduled RAR communication isscheduled within the one or more first segments of the RAR window orscheduled within the one or more second segments. In some examples, thescheduled RAR communication includes at least one of a physical downlinkshared channel (PDSCH) message or a physical downlink control channel(PDCCH) message. The operations of 1610 may be performed according tothe methods described herein. In some examples, aspects of theoperations of 1610 may be performed by a communication manager asdescribed with reference to FIGS. 10 through 13 .

At 1615, the base station may transmit, based on the determination at1610, the single instance of the control information or the repeatedinstances of the control information in one or more slots of the RARwindow. The operations of 1615 may be performed according to the methodsdescribed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1615may be performed by a communication manager as described with referenceto FIGS. 10 through 13 .

The method 1600 may include the base station selecting the RAR windowconfiguration from a plurality of available RAR window configurations.The selecting the RAR window configuration from a plurality of availableRAR window configurations may be at least partially based on aconnectivity condition between the base station and one or more userequipments (UEs).

In some instances, the determining whether the random access procedureis operating within the one or more first segments of the RAR window oroperating within the one or more second segments includes determiningthe random access procedure is operating within the one or more secondsegments and the transmitting the single instance of the controlinformation or the repeated instances of the control informationincludes transmitting the repeated instances of the control informationin a plurality of slots of the RAR window. In some examples, thetransmitting the repeated instances of the control information in theplurality of slots of the RAR window is based on a repetition levelassociated with the one or more second segments in accordance with theRAR window configuration. In some instances, the method 1600 includestransmitting a RAR message in a data channel based at least in part onthe repeated instances of the control information. The method 1600 mayinclude the base station receiving, from a user equipment (UE), a radioresource control (RRC) connection request based at least in part on therepeated instances of the control information transmitted in theplurality of slots of the RAR window.

In some instances, the determining whether the random access procedureis operating within the one or more first segments of the RAR window oroperating within the one or more second segments includes determiningthe random access procedure is operating within the one or more secondsegments and the method 1600 may further include transmitting, based onthe determining, repeated instances of a RAR message in a data channel.

FIG. 17 shows a flowchart illustrating a method 1700 that supportsmessage repetition for a random access procedure in accordance withaspects of the present disclosure. The operations of method 1700 may beimplemented by a base station 105 or its components as described herein.For example, the operations of method 1700 may be performed by acommunication manager as described with reference to FIGS. 10 through 13. In some examples, a base station may execute a set of instructions tocontrol the functional elements of the base station to perform thedescribed functions. Additionally, or alternatively, a base station mayperform aspects of the described functions using special-purposehardware.

At 1705, the base station may transmit an indication of a random accessresponse (RAR) window configuration. The RAR window configuration mayindicate one or more first RAR windows support a single instance ofcontrol information and indicating one or more second RAR windowssupport repeated instances of the control information.

The transmitting the indication of the RAR window configuration mayinclude transmitting system information. The transmitting the systeminformation may include transmitting at least one of a systeminformation block (SIB) or a master information block (MIB). Thetransmitting the system information may include transmitting the systeminformation via at least one of a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) or aphysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). The transmitting the systeminformation may include transmitting an indicator associated with theRAR window configuration. The operations of 1705 may be performedaccording to the methods described herein. In some examples, aspects ofthe operations of 1705 may be performed by a communication manager asdescribed with reference to FIGS. 10 through 13 .

At 1710, the base station may determine, based on the RAR windowconfiguration, whether a segment of a current RAR window supports asingle instance of control information or repeated instances of thecontrol information. In some instances, the determining whether thesegment of the current RAR window supports the single instance ofcontrol information or the repeated instances of the control informationincludes determining whether the current RAR window is part of the oneor more first RAR windows or the one or more second RAR windows. In someinstances, the determining whether the current RAR window is part of theone or more first RAR windows or the one or more second RAR windows isbased on a predefined pattern. In some instances, the predefined patternis an alternating pattern of the one or more first RAR windows and theone or more second RAR windows.

In some instances, the determining whether the segment of the currentRAR window supports the single instance of control information or therepeated instances of the control information includes determiningwhether the segment of the current RAR window is one or more firstsegments of the current RAR window supporting the single instance ofcontrol information or one or more second segments of the current RARwindow supporting repeated instances of the control information. In someexamples, the determining whether the segment of the current RAR windowsupports the single instance of control information or the repeatedinstances of the control information may further include determiningwhether a RAR communication is scheduled within the one or more firstsegments of the current RAR window or scheduled within the one or moresecond segments of the current RAR window. The scheduled RARcommunication may include at least one of a physical downlink sharedchannel (PDSCH) message or a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)message.

In some instances, the determining whether the segment of the currentRAR window supports the single instance of control information or therepeated instances of the control information includes determining thesegment of the current RAR window supports repeated instances of thecontrol information and the transmitting the single instance of thecontrol information or the repeated instances of the control informationincludes transmitting the repeated instances of the control informationin a plurality of slots of the RAR window. In some examples, thetransmitting the repeated instances of the control information in theplurality of slots of the RAR window may be based on a repetition level.In some instances, the method 1700 includes transmitting a RAR messagein a data channel based at least in part on the repeated instances ofthe control information.

The operations of 1710 may be performed according to the methodsdescribed herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of 1710may be performed by a communication manager as described with referenceto FIGS. 10 through 13 .

At 1715, the base station may transmit, based on the determination at1710, the single instance of the control information or the repeatedinstances of the control information in one or more slots of the currentRAR window. The operations of 1715 may be performed according to themethods described herein. In some examples, aspects of the operations of1715 may be performed by a communication manager as described withreference to FIGS. 10 through 13 .

In some instances, the method 1700 includes determining the current RARwindow will support repeated instances of the control information andtransmitting an indication that the current RAR window supports repeatedinstances of the control information. In some examples, the determiningthe current RAR window will support repeated instances of the controlinformation is at least partially based on a connectivity conditionbetween the base station and one or more user equipments (UEs). Thetransmitting the indication that the current RAR window supportsrepeated instances of the control information may include transmittingsystem information for the current RAR window via at least one of asystem information block (SIB), a master information block (MIB),remaining minimum system information (RMSI), a physical broadcastchannel (PBCH), or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

In some instances, the RAR window configuration further indicates one ormore third RAR windows support a single instance of a RAR message andindicates one or more fourth RAR windows support repeated instances ofthe RAR message and the method 1700 further includes determining, basedon the RAR window configuration, whether the segment of the current RARwindow supports the single instance of the RAR message or the repeatedinstances of the RAR message; and transmitting, based on the determiningwhether the segment of the current RAR window supports the singleinstance of the RAR message or the repeated instances of the RARmessage, the single instance of the RAR message or the repeatedinstances of the RAR message over a data channel In some instances, theone or more third RAR windows at least partially overlap with the one ormore first RAR windows. In some instances, the one or more fourth RARwindows at least partially overlap with the one or more second RARwindows. In some examples, the determining whether the segment of thecurrent RAR window supports the single instance of the RAR message orthe repeated instances of the RAR message includes determining thesegment of the current RAR window supports the repeated instances of theRAR message and the transmitting the single instance of the RAR messageor the repeated instances of the RAR message includes transmitting therepeated instances of the RAR message over the data channel.

It should be noted that the methods described herein describe possibleimplementations, and that the operations and the steps may be rearrangedor otherwise modified and that other implementations are possible.Further, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined.

Although aspects of an LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NR system may bedescribed for purposes of example, and LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NRterminology may be used in much of the description, the techniquesdescribed herein are applicable beyond LTE, LTE-A, LTE-A Pro, or NRnetworks. For example, the described techniques may be applicable tovarious other wireless communications systems such as Ultra MobileBroadband (UMB), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers(IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Flash-OFDM, aswell as other systems and radio technologies not explicitly mentionedherein.

Further aspects of the present disclosure include the following:

-   1. A method for wireless communication at a user equipment,    comprising:

receiving, from a base station, an indication of a random accessresponse (RAR) window configuration, the RAR window configurationindicating one or more first segments of a RAR window support a singleinstance of control information and indicating one or more secondsegments of the RAR window support repeated instances of the controlinformation;

determining, based on the RAR window configuration, whether a randomaccess procedure is operating within the one or more first segments ofthe RAR window or operating within the one or more second segments; and

monitoring, based on the determining, one or more slots of the RARwindow for the single instance of the control information or therepeated instances of the control information.

2. The method of clause 1, wherein the receiving the indication of theRAR window configuration includes receiving system information from thebase station.

3. The method of clause 2, wherein the receiving the system informationfrom the base station includes receiving at least one of a systeminformation block (SIB) or a master information block (MIB).

4. The method of any of clauses 2-3, wherein the receiving the systeminformation from the base station includes receiving the systeminformation via at least one of a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) or aphysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

5. The method of any of clauses 1-4, further comprising:

identifying, based on the received indication of the RAR windowconfiguration, the RAR window configuration.

6. The method of clause 5, wherein the identifying the RAR windowconfiguration includes mapping one or more bits of the receivedindication of the RAR window configuration to parameters of the RARwindow configuration.

7. The method of clause 6, wherein the mapping one or more bits of thereceived indication of the RAR window configuration to the parameters ofthe RAR window configuration includes using a look-up table.

8. The method of clause 6, wherein the mapping one or more bits of thereceived indication of the RAR window configuration to the parameters ofthe RAR window configuration includes selecting a first look-up tablefrom a plurality of available look-up tables.9. The method of any of clauses 1-8, wherein the RAR windowconfiguration indicates the RAR window includes an alternating patternof the one or more first segments and the one or more second segments.10. The method of any of clauses 1-9, wherein the RAR windowconfiguration indicates that each of the one or more first segments hasa first length and each of the one or more second segments has a secondlength.11. The method of clause 10, wherein the second length is different thanthe first length.12. The method of any of clauses 1-8 or 10-11, wherein the RAR windowconfiguration indicates the RAR window is contiguous.13. The method of any of clauses 1-11, wherein the RAR windowconfiguration indicates the RAR window is noncontiguous.14. The method of any of clauses 1-13, wherein the determining whetherthe random access procedure is operating within the one or more firstsegments of the RAR window or operating within the one or more secondsegments includes determining whether a scheduled RAR communication isscheduled within the one or more first segments of the RAR window orscheduled within the one or more second segments.15. The method of clause 14, wherein the scheduled RAR communicationincludes at least one of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)message or a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) message.16. The method of any of clauses 1-15, wherein:

the determining whether the random access procedure is operating withinthe one or more first segments of the RAR window or operating within theone or more second segments includes determining the random accessprocedure is operating within the one or more second segments; and

the monitoring the one or more slots of the RAR window includesmonitoring a plurality of slots of the RAR window for the repeatedinstances of the control information.

17. The method of clause 16, further comprising:

identifying a repetition level associated with the one or more secondsegments, wherein the monitoring the plurality of slots of the RARwindow for the repeated instances of the control information is based onthe identified repetition level.

18. The method of any of clauses 16-17, further comprising:

receiving, from the base station based on the monitoring, two or more ofthe repeated instances of the control information;

combining the received, repeated instances of the control information toform a combined control information; and

decoding the combined control information.

19. The method of clause 18, wherein the combining the received,repeated instances of the control information to form the combinedcontrol information includes performing soft combining.

20. The method of clause 18, further comprising:

monitoring for a RAR message in a data channel based on the decodedcombined control information.

21. The method of clause of any of clauses 1-15, wherein the determiningwhether the random access procedure is operating within the one or morefirst segments of the RAR window or operating within the one or moresecond segments includes determining the random access procedure isoperating within the one or more second segments; and

further comprising:

monitoring, based on the determining, for repeated instances of a RARmessage in a data channel.

22. A method for wireless communication at a base station, comprising:

transmitting an indication of a random access response (RAR) windowconfiguration, the RAR window configuration indicating one or more firstsegments of a RAR window support a single instance of controlinformation and indicating one or more second segments of the RAR windowsupport repeated instances of the control information;

determining, based on the RAR window configuration, whether a randomaccess procedure is operating within the one or more first segments ofthe RAR window or operating within the one or more second segments; and

transmitting, based on the determining, the single instance of thecontrol information or the repeated instances of the control informationin one or more slots of the RAR window.

23. The method of clause 22, wherein the transmitting the indication ofthe RAR window configuration includes transmitting system information.

24. The method of clause 23, wherein the transmitting the systeminformation includes transmitting at least one of a system informationblock (SIB) or a master information block (MIB).

25. The method of any of clauses 22-23, wherein the transmitting thesystem information includes transmitting the system information via atleast one of a physical broadcast channel (PBCH) or a physical downlinkshared channel (PDSCH).

26. The method of any of clauses 23-25, wherein the transmitting thesystem information includes transmitting an indicator associated withthe RAR window configuration.

27. The method of any of clauses 22-26, further comprising:

selecting the RAR window configuration from a plurality of available RARwindow configurations.

28. The method of clause 27, wherein the selecting the RAR windowconfiguration from a plurality of available RAR window configurations isat least partially based on a connectivity condition between the basestation and one or more user equipments (UEs).

29. The method of any of clauses clause 22-28, wherein the RAR windowconfiguration further indicates an alternating pattern of the one ormore first segments and the one or more second segments.

30. The method of any of clauses 22-28, wherein the RAR windowconfiguration further indicates that each of the one or more firstsegments has a first length and each of the one or more second segmentshas a second length.

31. The method of clause 30, wherein the second length is different thanthe first length.

32. The method of any of clauses 22-31, wherein the RAR windowconfiguration indicates the RAR window is contiguous.

33. The method of any of clauses 22-31, wherein the RAR windowconfiguration indicates the RAR window is contiguous.

34. The method of any of clauses 22-33, wherein the determining whetherthe random access procedure is operating within the one or more firstsegments of the RAR window or operating within the one or more secondsegments includes determining whether a scheduled RAR communication isscheduled within the one or more first segments of the RAR window orscheduled within the one or more second segments.35. The method of clause 34, wherein the scheduled RAR communicationincludes at least one of a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)message or a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) message.36. The method of any of clauses 22-35, wherein:

the determining whether the random access procedure is operating withinthe one or more first segments of the RAR window or operating within theone or more second segments includes determining the random accessprocedure is operating within the one or more second segments; and thetransmitting the single instance of the control information or therepeated instances of the control information includes transmitting therepeated instances of the control information in a plurality of slots ofthe RAR window.

37. The method of clause 36, wherein the transmitting the repeatedinstances of the control information in the plurality of slots of theRAR window is based on a repetition level associated with the one ormore second segments in accordance with the RAR window configuration.38. The method of any of clauses 36-37, further comprising:

transmitting a RAR message in a data channel based at least in part onthe repeated instances of the control information.

39. The method of any of clauses 36-38, further comprising:

receiving, from a user equipment (UE), a radio resource control (RRC)connection request based at least in part on the repeated instances ofthe control information transmitted in the plurality of slots of the RARwindow.

40. The method of any of clauses 22-35, wherein the determining whetherthe random access procedure is operating within the one or more firstsegments of the RAR window or operating within the one or more secondsegments includes determining the random access procedure is operatingwithin the one or more second segments; and

further comprising:

transmitting, based on the determining, repeated instances of a RARmessage in a data channel.

41. An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment,comprising:

a processor,

memory in electronic communication with the processor, and

instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor tocause the apparatus to:

-   -   receive, from a base station, an indication of a random access        response (RAR) window configuration, the RAR window        configuration indicating one or more first segments of a RAR        window support a single instance of control information and        indicating one or more second segments of the RAR window support        repeated instances of the control information;    -   determine, based on the RAR window configuration, whether a        random access procedure is operating within the one or more        first segments of the RAR window or operating within the one or        more second segments; and    -   monitor, based on the determining, one or more slots of the RAR        window for the single instance of the control information or the        repeated instances of the control information.        42. The apparatus of clause 41, wherein the instructions are        further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

receive the indication of the RAR window configuration by receivingsystem information from the base station.

43. The apparatus of clause 42, wherein the instructions are furtherexecutable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

receive the system information from the base station by receiving atleast one of a system information block (SIB) or a master informationblock (MIB).

44. The apparatus of any of clauses 41-42, wherein the instructions arefurther executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

receive the system information from the base station by receiving thesystem information via at least one of a physical broadcast channel(PBCH) or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

45. The apparatus of any of clauses 41-44, wherein the instructions arefurther executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

identify, based on the received indication of the RAR windowconfiguration, the RAR window configuration.

46. The apparatus of any of clauses 41-45, wherein the instructions arefurther executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

identify the RAR window configuration based on mapping one or more bitsof the received indication of the RAR window configuration to parametersof the RAR window configuration.

47. The apparatus of clause 46, wherein the instructions are furtherexecutable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

map the one or more bits of the received indication of the RAR windowconfiguration to the parameters of the RAR window configuration using alook-up table.

48. The apparatus of clause 46, wherein the instructions are furtherexecutable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

map the one or more bits of the received indication of the RAR windowconfiguration to the parameters of the RAR window configuration byselecting a first look-up table from a plurality of available look-uptables.

49. The apparatus of any of clauses 41-48, wherein the instructions arefurther executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

determine the RAR window configuration indicates the RAR window includesan alternating pattern of the one or more first segments and the one ormore second segments.

50. The apparatus of any of clauses 41-49, wherein the instructions arefurther executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

determine the RAR window configuration indicates that each of the one ormore first segments has a first length and each of the one or moresecond segments has a second length.

51. The apparatus of clause 50, wherein the instructions are furtherexecutable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

determine the second length is different than the first length.

52. The apparatus of any of clauses 41-48 or 50-51, wherein theinstructions are further executable by the processor to cause theapparatus to:

determine the RAR window configuration indicates the RAR window iscontiguous.

53. The apparatus of any of clauses 41-51, wherein the instructions arefurther executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

determine the RAR window configuration indicates the RAR window isnoncontiguous.

54. The apparatus of any of clauses 41-53, wherein the instructions arefurther executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

determine whether the random access procedure is operating within theone or more first segments of the RAR window or operating within the oneor more second segments by determining whether a scheduled RARcommunication is scheduled within the one or more first segments of theRAR window or scheduled within the one or more second segments.

55. The apparatus of clause 54, wherein the instructions are furtherexecutable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

determine the scheduled RAR communication includes at least one of aphysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) message or a physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) message.

56. The apparatus of any of clauses 41-55, wherein the instructions arefurther executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

monitor, in response to determining the random access procedure isoperating within the one or more second segments, a plurality of slotsof the RAR window for the repeated instances of the control information.

57. The apparatus of clause 56, wherein the instructions are furtherexecutable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

identify a repetition level associated with the one or more secondsegments such that the apparatus monitors the plurality of slots of theRAR window for the repeated instances of the control information basedon the identified repetition level.

58. The apparatus of any of clauses 56-57, wherein the instructions arefurther executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

receive, from the base station based on the monitoring the plurality ofslots of the RAR window, two or more of the repeated instances of thecontrol information;

combine the received, repeated instances of the control information toform a combined control information; and

decode the combined control information.

59. The apparatus of clause 58, wherein the instructions are furtherexecutable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

combine the received, repeated instances of the control information toform the combined control information by performing soft combining.

60. The apparatus of clause 58, wherein the instructions are furtherexecutable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

monitor for a RAR message in a data channel based on the decodedcombined control information.

61. The apparatus of any of clauses 41-55, wherein the instructions arefurther executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

monitor, in response to determining the random access procedure isoperating within the one or more second segments, for repeated instancesof a RAR message in a data channel.

62. An apparatus for wireless communication at a base station,comprising:

a processor,

memory in electronic communication with the processor, and

instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor tocause the apparatus to:

-   -   transmit an indication of a random access response (RAR) window        configuration, the RAR window configuration indicating one or        more first segments of a RAR window support a single instance of        control information and indicating one or more second segments        of the RAR window support repeated instances of the control        information;    -   determine, based on the RAR window configuration, whether a        random access procedure is operating within the one or more        first segments of the RAR window or operating within the one or        more second segments; and    -   transmit, based on the determining, the single instance of the        control information or the repeated instances of the control        information in one or more slots of the RAR window.        63. The apparatus of clause 62, wherein the instructions are        further executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

transmit the indication of the RAR window configuration by transmittingsystem information.

64. The apparatus of clause 63, wherein the instructions are furtherexecutable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

transmit the system information by transmitting at least one of a systeminformation block (SIB) or a master information block (MIB).

65. The apparatus of any of clauses clause 63-34, wherein theinstructions are further executable by the processor to cause theapparatus to:

transmit the system information via at least one of a physical broadcastchannel (PBCH) or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).

66. The apparatus of any of clauses 63-65, wherein the instructions arefurther executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

transmit the system information by transmitting an indicator associatedwith the RAR window configuration.

67. The apparatus any of clauses 62-66, wherein the instructions arefurther executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

select the RAR window configuration from a plurality of available RARwindow configurations.

68. The apparatus of clause 67, wherein the instructions are furtherexecutable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

select the RAR window configuration from a plurality of available RARwindow configurations at least partially based on a connectivitycondition between the base station and one or more user equipments(UEs).

69. The apparatus any of clauses 62-68, wherein the instructions arefurther executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

determine the RAR window configuration indicates an alternating patternof the one or more first segments and the one or more second segments.

70. The apparatus any of clauses 62-69, wherein the instructions arefurther executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

determine the RAR window configuration indicates that each of the one ormore first segments has a first length and each of the one or moresecond segments has a second length.

71. The apparatus of clause 70, wherein the instructions are furtherexecutable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

determine the second length is different than the first length.

72. The apparatus any of clauses 62-71, wherein the instructions arefurther executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

determine the RAR window configuration indicates the RAR window iscontiguous.

73. The apparatus any of clauses 62-71, wherein the instructions arefurther executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

determine the RAR window configuration indicates the RAR window iscontiguous.

74. The apparatus any of clauses 62-73, wherein the instructions arefurther executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

determine whether the random access procedure is operating within theone or more first segments of the RAR window or operating within the oneor more second segments by determining whether a scheduled RARcommunication is scheduled within the one or more first segments of theRAR window or scheduled within the one or more second segments.

75. The apparatus of clause 74, wherein the instructions are furtherexecutable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

determine the scheduled RAR communication includes at least one of aphysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) message or a physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) message.

76. The apparatus any of clauses 62-75, wherein the instructions arefurther executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

transmit, in response to determining the random access procedure isoperating within the one or more second segments, the repeated instancesof the control information in a plurality of slots of the RAR window.

77. The apparatus of clause 76, wherein the instructions are furtherexecutable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

transmit the repeated instances of the control information in theplurality of slots of the RAR window based on a repetition levelassociated with the one or more second segments in accordance with theRAR window configuration.

78. The apparatus any of clauses 76-77, wherein the instructions arefurther executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

transmit a RAR message in a data channel based at least in part on therepeated instances of the control information.

79. The apparatus any of clauses 76-78, wherein the instructions arefurther executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

receive, from a user equipment (UE), a radio resource control (RRC)connection request based at least in part on the repeated instances ofthe control information transmitted in the plurality of slots of the RARwindow.

80. The apparatus any of clauses 62-75, wherein the instructions arefurther executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

transmit, based on the determining the random access procedure isoperating within the one or more second segments, repeated instances ofa RAR message in a data channel.

81. An apparatus for wireless communication at a user equipment,comprising:

means for receiving, from a base station, an indication of a randomaccess response (RAR) window configuration, the RAR window configurationindicating one or more first segments of a RAR window support a singleinstance of control information and indicating one or more secondsegments of the RAR window support repeated instances of the controlinformation;

means for determining, based on the RAR window configuration, whether arandom access procedure is operating within the one or more firstsegments of the RAR window or operating within the one or more secondsegments; and

means for monitoring, based on the determining, one or more slots of theRAR window for the single instance of the control information or therepeated instances of the control information.

82. An apparatus for wireless communication at a base station,comprising:

means for transmitting an indication of a random access response (RAR)window configuration, the RAR window configuration indicating one ormore first segments of a RAR window support a single instance of controlinformation and indicating one or more second segments of the RAR windowsupport repeated instances of the control information;

means for determining, based on the RAR window configuration, whether arandom access procedure is operating within the one or more firstsegments of the RAR window or operating within the one or more secondsegments; and

means for transmitting, based on the determining, the single instance ofthe control information or the repeated instances of the controlinformation in one or more slots of the RAR window.

83. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wirelesscommunication at a user equipment, the code comprising instructionsexecutable by a processor to:

receive, from a base station, an indication of a random access response(RAR) window configuration, the RAR window configuration indicating oneor more first segments of a RAR window support a single instance ofcontrol information and indicating one or more second segments of theRAR window support repeated instances of the control information;

determine, based on the RAR window configuration, whether a randomaccess procedure is operating within the one or more first segments ofthe RAR window or operating within the one or more second segments; and

monitor, based on the determining, one or more slots of the RAR windowfor the single instance of the control information or the repeatedinstances of the control information.

84. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wirelesscommunication at a base station, the code comprising instructionsexecutable by a processor to:

transmit an indication of a random access response (RAR) windowconfiguration, the RAR window configuration indicating one or more firstsegments of a RAR window support a single instance of controlinformation and indicating one or more second segments of the RAR windowsupport repeated instances of the control information;

determine, based on the RAR window configuration, whether a randomaccess procedure is operating within the one or more first segments ofthe RAR window or operating within the one or more second segments; and

transmit, based on the determining, the single instance of the controlinformation or the repeated instances of the control information in oneor more slots of the RAR window.

Information and signals described herein may be represented using any ofa variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data,instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chipsthat may be referenced throughout the description may be represented byvoltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles,optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

The various illustrative blocks and components described in connectionwith the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with ageneral-purpose processor, a DSP, an ASIC, a CPU, an FPGA or otherprogrammable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discretehardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform thefunctions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be amicroprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be anyprocessor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processormay also be implemented as a combination of computing devices (e.g., acombination of a DSP and a microprocessor, multiple microprocessors, oneor more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any othersuch configuration).

The functions described herein may be implemented in hardware, softwareexecuted by a processor, firmware, or any combination thereof. Ifimplemented in software executed by a processor, the functions may bestored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. Other examples and implementations are withinthe scope of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, due to thenature of software, functions described herein may be implemented usingsoftware executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, orcombinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may alsobe physically located at various positions, including being distributedsuch that portions of functions are implemented at different physicallocations.

Computer-readable media includes both non-transitory computer storagemedia and communication media including any medium that facilitatestransfer of a computer program from one place to another. Anon-transitory storage medium may be any available medium that may beaccessed by a general-purpose or special purpose computer. By way ofexample, and not limitation, non-transitory computer-readable media mayinclude RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flashmemory, compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magneticdisk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any othernon-transitory medium that may be used to carry or store desired programcode means in the form of instructions or data structures and that maybe accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or ageneral-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, any connection isproperly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the softwareis transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using acoaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line(DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave,then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, orwireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave areincluded in the definition of computer-readable medium. Disk and disc,as used herein, include CD, laser disc, optical disc, digital versatiledisc (DVD), floppy disk and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproducedata magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.Combinations of the above are also included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media.

As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items(e.g., a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as “at least one of” or“one or more of”) indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, alist of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BCor ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Also, as used herein, the phrase “basedon” shall not be construed as a reference to a closed set of conditions.For example, an example step that is described as “based on condition A”may be based on both a condition A and a condition B without departingfrom the scope of the present disclosure. In other words, as usedherein, the phrase “based on” shall be construed in the same manner asthe phrase “based at least in part on.”

In the appended figures, similar components or features may have thesame reference label. Further, various components of the same type maybe distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a secondlabel that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the firstreference label is used in the specification, the description isapplicable to any one of the similar components having the same firstreference label irrespective of the second reference label, or othersubsequent reference label.

The description set forth herein, in connection with the appendeddrawings, describes example configurations and does not represent allthe examples that may be implemented or that are within the scope of theclaims. The term “example” used herein means “serving as an example,instance, or illustration,” and not “preferred” or “advantageous overother examples.” The detailed description includes specific details forthe purpose of providing an understanding of the described techniques.These techniques, however, may be practiced without these specificdetails. In some instances, known structures and devices are shown inblock diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the concepts of thedescribed examples.

The description herein is provided to enable a person having ordinaryskill in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications tothe disclosure will be apparent to a person having ordinary skill in theart, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to othervariations without departing from the scope of the disclosure. Thus, thedisclosure is not limited to the examples and designs described herein,but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principlesand novel features disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for wireless communication at a userequipment, comprising: receiving, from a base station, an indication ofa random access response (RAR) window configuration, the RAR windowconfiguration indicating one or more first segments of a RAR windowsupporting a single instance of control information and indicating oneor more second segments of the RAR window supporting repeated instancesof the control information; determining whether a random accessprocedure is operating within the one or more first segments of the RARwindow or operating within the one or more second segments based onwhether a scheduled RAR communication is scheduled within the one ormore first segments of the RAR window or scheduled within the one ormore second segments; and monitoring, based on the determining, one ormore slots of the RAR window for the single instance of the controlinformation or the repeated instances of the control information.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the receiving the indication of the RARwindow configuration includes receiving system information from the basestation, wherein the receiving the system information from the basestation includes receiving at least one of a system information block(SIB) or a master information block (MIB).
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the receiving the indication of the RAR window configurationincludes receiving system information from the base station, wherein thereceiving the system information from the base station includesreceiving the system information via at least one of a physicalbroadcast channel (PBCH) or a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH).4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: identifying, based on thereceived indication of the RAR window configuration, the RAR windowconfiguration.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the identifying the RARwindow configuration includes mapping one or more bits of the receivedindication of the RAR window configuration to parameters of the RARwindow configuration.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the mapping oneor more bits of the received indication of the RAR window configurationto the parameters of the RAR window configuration includes using alook-up table.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the mapping one or morebits of the received indication of the RAR window configuration to theparameters of the RAR window configuration includes selecting a firstlook-up table from a plurality of available look-up tables.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the RAR window configuration indicates theRAR window includes an alternating pattern of the one or more firstsegments and the one or more second segments.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein the RAR window configuration indicates that each of the one ormore first segments has a first length and each of the one or moresecond segments has a second length.
 10. The method of claim 1, whereinthe RAR window configuration indicates whether the RAR window iscontiguous or noncontiguous.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein thescheduled RAR communication includes at least one of a physical downlinkshared channel (PDSCH) message or a physical downlink control channel(PDCCH) message.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein: the determiningwhether the random access procedure is operating within the one or morefirst segments of the RAR window or operating within the one or moresecond segments includes determining the random access procedure isoperating within the one or more second segments; and the monitoring theone or more slots of the RAR window includes monitoring a plurality ofslots of the RAR window for the repeated instances of the controlinformation.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: identifyinga repetition level associated with the one or more second segments,wherein the monitoring the plurality of slots of the RAR window for therepeated instances of the control information is based on the identifiedrepetition level.
 14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:receiving, from the base station based on the monitoring, two or more ofthe repeated instances of the control information; combining thereceived, repeated instances of the control information to form acombined control information; and decoding the combined controlinformation.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the combining thereceived, repeated instances of the control information to form thecombined control information includes performing soft combining.
 16. Themethod of claim 14, further comprising: monitoring for a RAR message ina data channel based on the decoded combined control information. 17.The method of claim 1, wherein the determining whether the random accessprocedure is operating within the one or more first segments of the RARwindow or operating within the one or more second segments includesdetermining the random access procedure is operating within the one ormore second segments; and further comprising: monitoring, based on thedetermining, for repeated instances of a RAR message in a data channel.18. A method for wireless communication at a base station, comprising:transmitting an indication of a random access response (RAR) windowconfiguration, the RAR window configuration indicating one or more firstsegments of a RAR window supporting a single instance of controlinformation and indicating one or more second segments of the RAR windowsupporting repeated instances of the control information; determiningwhether a random access procedure is operating within the one or morefirst segments of the RAR window or operating within the one or moresecond segments based on whether a scheduled RAR communication isscheduled within the one or more first segments of the RAR window orscheduled within the one or more second segments; and transmitting,based on the determining, the single instance of the control informationor the repeated instances of the control information in one or moreslots of the RAR window.
 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:selecting the RAR window configuration from a plurality of available RARwindow configurations.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the selectingthe RAR window configuration from a plurality of available RAR windowconfigurations is at least partially based on a connectivity conditionbetween the base station and one or more user equipments (UEs).
 21. Themethod of claim 18, wherein the RAR window configuration furtherindicates an alternating pattern of the one or more first segments andthe one or more second segments.
 22. The method of claim 18, wherein theRAR window configuration further indicates that each of the one or morefirst segments has a first length and each of the one or more secondsegments has a second length.
 23. The method of claim 18, wherein: thedetermining whether the random access procedure is operating within theone or more first segments of the RAR window or operating within the oneor more second segments includes determining the random access procedureis operating within the one or more second segments; and thetransmitting the single instance of the control information or therepeated instances of the control information includes transmitting therepeated instances of the control information in a plurality of slots ofthe RAR window.
 24. The method of claim 23, wherein the transmitting therepeated instances of the control information in the plurality of slotsof the RAR window is based on a repetition level associated with the oneor more second segments in accordance with the RAR window configuration.25. The method of claim 23, further comprising: transmitting a RARmessage in a data channel based at least in part on the repeatedinstances of the control information.
 26. The method of claim 23,further comprising: receiving, from a user equipment (UE), a radioresource control (RRC) connection request based at least in part on therepeated instances of the control information transmitted in theplurality of slots of the RAR window.
 27. The method of claim 18,wherein the determining whether the random access procedure is operatingwithin the one or more first segments of the RAR window or operatingwithin the one or more second segments includes determining the randomaccess procedure is operating within the one or more second segments;and further comprising: transmitting, based on the determining, repeatedinstances of a RAR message in a data channel.
 28. An apparatus forwireless communication at a user equipment, comprising: a processor,memory in electronic communication with the processor, and instructionsstored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause theapparatus to: receive, from a base station, an indication of a randomaccess response (RAR) window configuration, the RAR window configurationindicating one or more first segments of a RAR window supporting asingle instance of control information and indicating one or more secondsegments of the RAR window supporting repeated instances of the controlinformation; determine whether a random access procedure is operatingwithin the one or more first segments of the RAR window or operatingwithin the one or more second segments based on whether a scheduled RARcommunication is scheduled within the one or more first segments of theRAR window or scheduled within the one or more second segments; andmonitor, based on the determining, one or more slots of the RAR windowfor the single instance of the control information or the repeatedinstances of the control information.
 29. An apparatus for wirelesscommunication at a base station, comprising: a processor, memory inelectronic communication with the processor, and instructions stored inthe memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:transmit an indication of a random access response (RAR) windowconfiguration, the RAR window configuration indicating one or more firstsegments of a RAR window supporting a single instance of controlinformation and indicating one or more second segments of the RAR windowsupporting repeated instances of the control information; determinewhether a random access procedure is operating within the one or morefirst segments of the RAR window or operating within the one or moresecond segments based on whether a scheduled RAR communication isscheduled within the one or more first segments of the RAR window orscheduled within the one or more second segments; and transmit, based onthe determining, the single instance of the control information or therepeated instances of the control information in one or more slots ofthe RAR window.